It was a distinction to be able to drive such a car: in the 1920s and 1930s, the supercharged cars from Mercedes-Benz and the predecessor brand Mercedes eclipsed all the powerful and refined cars that had existed until then. They launched a new era in automotive engineering. Captains of industry and politicians, artists and sports men and women – the people driving supercharged Mercedes cars in those days opted for an image of savoir vivre and dynamism, for the most advanced engineering and the most refined design. In short, for the best cars in the world. Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) used the valuable experience gained with the supercharging of aircraft engines for boosting the power of vehicle engines for the first time after World War I – and a new performance category was born. The first supercharged Mercedes models were displayed at the Berlin Motor Show in 1921 and caused quite a stir among automotive experts. Racing cars were equally equipped with superchargers, and in April 1922, Max Sailer won the production car class of the Targa Florio at the wheel of a supercharged 28/95 hp Mercedes.