German version
Mercedes O 3500 - Premiere on December 24, 1949
- First new post-war bus from the then Daimler-Benz AG
- Mannheim’s first step towards becoming a bus plant
- Compact conventional bus for all purposes
- OP 3500 chassis also for cab-over-engine bodies
- The most successful bus in its day and age with over 6,000 units produced
All-weather version of the Mercedes-Benz O 3500 from the Daimler-Benz plant in Mannheim, 1953.
It almost sounds like a Christmas tale, but if the stories handed down through the generations are to be believed, the legendary Mercedes-Benz O 3500 did indeed celebrate its premiere on December 24, 1949. With this compact conventional bus, the then Daimler-Benz AG set itself a very special Christmas present: in next to no time, the O 3500 became the most successful bus in its day and age.
Classic chassis design with a low frame
The first newly developed post-war bus with the three-pointed star was based on the L 3500 truck launched at the same time. And just like this truck, the bus had a somewhat lighter predecessor - the O 3250 (L 3250) - for a short period in the summer of 1949. Due to the family relationship with the truck, the Mercedes-Benz O 3500 had a diesel engine installed at the front, under a conventional hood. The design principle of load-carrying chassis with separately manufactured body fitted at a later stage was equally conventional. However, the chassis for the O 3500 featured a particularly low frame to give passengers a conveniently low entrance height.
All-weather version of the Mercedes-Benz O 3500 from the Daimler-Benz plant in Mannheim, 1953.