COBI 1937 Mercedes 230 Set 2251

COBI's 1937 Mercedes 230 is a 1:35 model built from 248 blocks, with moving wheels, opening doors and an opening boot. A figure is included, along with a brick carrying the car's printed name. New brick types were designed for this model, useful for building vehicles generally.

The number is the engine size

Mercedes-Benz named this car after its displacement: 230 means 2.3 litres. That convention started in the 1920s, has run without interruption for a century, and is the reason a modern buyer can read a badge and know something real about the car.

It has held up remarkably well. A 230 in 1937 had a 2.3-litre engine; a 300 in 1951 had three litres; a 500 in 1980 had five. Other manufacturers used model names, or numbers meaning nothing at all, or their own internal project codes.

The system only broke when engines began shrinking while power went up. A modern Mercedes badged 300 does not have a three-litre engine — the number now indicates roughly where the car sits in the range, and the actual engine may be half that size. The badge became a class rather than a measurement, and the honest period ended around 1990.

This car had 2.2 litres despite the badge, produced 40 kW, and reached about 116 km/h.

The same car appears twice in the range

Set 2277 is the German Staff Car Type 230 — the same vehicle, in military use. This set is the civilian 1937 car. Over 20,000 were built between 1937 and 1941 in seven body variants, and both state institutions and private owners bought them.

In the COBI range

Part of the 1:35 vehicle collection with the Horch 901 (2256, 2405), the Opel Blitz (2259) and the Citroën Tractions.

Specifications

Pieces: 248 · Figures: 1 · Scale: 1:35 · Opening doors and boot