The BMW–Mercedes rivalry has no end. The Bavarians poked fun at Mercedes on Instagram for celebrating 140 years since the invention of the automobile, but the Stuttgart-based manufacturer fired back with a fitting reply—right on BMW’s Instagram account.
The history is well known. On January 29, 1886, Carl Benz filed a patent for a motorized automobile. History records that the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, built in 1885 by Carl Benz in Germany and patented in January 1886, is the world’s first motor car.
Mercedes used this 140th anniversary to present the most extensive facelift in the history of the S-Class. The brand celebrated the milestone under the motto:
“140 years of innovation: Mercedes-Benz has been shaping the future of mobility since the invention of the automobile.”
The eternal rival from Bavaria did not hesitate to send congratulations. BMW addressed Mercedes directly on its Instagram account with a sequence of three messages and three photos.
The first image shows Carl Benz with a serious expression. On the photo appears BMW’s congratulatory message with the words:
“Luckily, Carl Benz invented the automobile.”
Everything is very polite up to this point. But then the circus begins. If you click to the right, a second image appears—created with the help of artificial intelligence—showing Carl Benz laughing out loud, accompanied by the message:
“So we could invent driving pleasure.”
With one more click to the right, you discover the third image, featuring the new BMW iX3, accompanied by the message:
“Happy Birthday, Mercedes-Benz.”
We don’t know whether Mercedes appreciated the joke, but they responded rather sharply right on BMW’s account:
“Cheers, @bmw – 140 years of making history and giving you something to chase. Thanks for the congrats!”
On a serious note, BMW’s gesture may seem cheeky at first glance, considering that BMW was founded only on March 7, 1916—more than 30 years later—and that its first automobile, the BMW 3/15 PS, was launched only in 1929. And that wasn’t even an original model, but an Austin 7 produced under license.
However, BMW is well known for the subtle jokes with which it pokes at its rivals to keep their rivalry alive—a rivalry that spans decades and has reached new dimensions in the electric era, when both manufacturers simultaneously unveiled at the Munich Motor Show their new models and electric architectures for the future: the BMW iX3 and the Mercedes GLC EQ.
In a more relaxed atmosphere, we have to admit that the joke is very good, and the image of Carl Benz laughing is iconic. The artificial intelligence did its job very well.
We don’t know whether BMW has a department dedicated to making jokes, and certainly Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) would be proud of such a scenario. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Atkinson is a BMW fan and even has a BMW 328 in his collection.
