Relocation in Stuttgart: why a Mercedes star is being relocated to a museum

Special transport

Star on tour.

The star on top of Stuttgart’s main station has been a part of the cityscape for decades. Now it has had to move – with the help of an Actros.


There are transport jobs that make you look twice … Why is a Mercedes star, five metres in diameter, being driven through Stuttgart? There’s a reason for this rather unusual scene.


The station tower, on which the star has perched since 1952 at a height of 56 metres, is being renovated and as a result the star has had to be removed for several years.

Up to 120 tonnes.

The star was transported to the Mercedes‑Benz Museum in Stuttgart’s Bad Cannstatt by STL, a company that specialises in exceptional transportation jobs. The team brought a three-axle Actros 2653 LS 6×4 to the station. The truck’s pulling power is up to 120 tonnes.

The truck safely towed the star with a diameter of five metres in a tilted position on the back of a hydraulic heavy-duty transporter through the city, across the Neckar river and finally to the Mercedes‑Benz Museum.

This location is however only temporary. In four years the star will return to the renovated station tower at Stuttgart’s new main station.


The Actros that was used is equipped with safety systems such as the latest generation of the emergency braking assistance system Active Brake Assist 5 with pedestrian detection. A six-cylinder inline OM 471 engine with an output of 390 kW and a torque of 2600 Nm provides the necessary power.


Photos: Daimler AG

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