Frank-Werner Mohn has just exited from a golden Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 bearing large ABS lettering on its flanks. From 1978, the luxury saloon bearing the Mercedes star was the first series production vehicle in the world available with an anti-lock braking system, or ABS for short. Next to it, at the end of a long, black skid mark, there is a white Mercedes-Benz S-Class produced in the same year, a 280 SE not yet equipped with ABS. During the emergency braking manoeuvre just carried out, the W116 has slid straight through the array of specially positioned foam blocks. With the front wheels locked, there was no chance of safe avoiding action. This only became possible with the anti-lock braking system, which Mercedes-Benz had developed together with Bosch at the time.
