A farmhand with 25 hp: the semi-automatic potato planting machine was an implement dating back to the beginnings of the Unimog. The track width of the Unimog was designed for work amongst the potato rows: it was 1270 mm which was sufficient space for precisely two rows of potatoes between the wheels. After conquering agriculture, the Unimog soon went on to do the same in other sectors; it was used with a snowplough in winter for example.

Its diesel engine was an OM 636 with a displacement of 1.7 litres that was originally developed for the Mercedes-Benz 170 D passenger car. For the Unimog, the engine's 38 hp were limited to 25 hp. This successful engine – the first diesel passenger car engine produced after the war – was installed as standard in passenger cars and the Unimog until 1963. 

75 years of the Unimog – the first Unimog prototype was developed in 1946.