From spring 1971 the ESF project in Sindelfingen went full speed ahead. More than 30 vehicles were built and tested over the next four years. The first test took place on 12 March 1971, with a series production car from the medium-class W 114 series: It took the form of a frontal impact against a fixed wall at 80 km/h. The crash tests also included front and rear impact tests, side impact tests against masts and other vehicles, and also drop tests from a height of 0.5 meters. As early as October 1971, Mercedes‑Benz presented the ESF 05 at the 2nd International ESV Conference in Sindelfingen. Even more than 40 years ago, Mercedes-Benz adopted its still continuing approach of comprehensive safety, as an extract from the description of the ESF 13 presented in May 1972 shows. ESF 5 Developed on the basis of the W 114 ("Stroke/8") series, presented at the 2nd International ESV Conference from 26 to 29 October 1971 in Sindelfingen. ESF 13 Revised variant of the ESF 5, presented at the 3rd International ESV Conference from 30 May to 2 June 1972 in Washington (USA). ESF 22 Based on the S-Class (116 series), presented at the 4th International ESV Conference from 13 to 16 March 1973 in Kyoto (Japan). ESF 24 Modified S-Class (116 series), presented at the 5th International ESV Conference from 4 to 7 June 1974 in London (Great Britain). All this provided an important basis for the safety level of the car bearing the Mercedes star.
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