Mercedes-Benz ESF 22 (1973 experimental safety vehicle)

The airbag in your steering wheel has a clear ancestor in this bulky S-Class. Mercedes built a series of Experimental Safety Vehicles in the early 1970s, and the ESF 22, shown at the international safety vehicle conference in Kyoto in 1973, carried a driver airbag alongside three-point belts with force limiters. That combination is the one that reached customers: Mercedes previewed the driver airbag and belt tensioner for the 126-series S-Class in December 1980, and the first cars fitted with them left the line early in 1981. It looks like an ordinary sedan with big bumpers, which is the lesson: the most important part of this future was hidden inside.