The Mercedes O 302: Official Bus of the 1974 FIFA World Cup

The World Cup replica O 302 on display at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart

The opening match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is less than a week away. While the anticipatory event is currently facing its own issues of discontent and disdain, there’s something else that’s fell short of expectations as of late: eye-catching team buses.

Former FIFA buses, like the Mercedes O 302 coach pictured above, were typically loud displays celebrating participating teams in the tournament. When West Germany hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1974, Mercedes-Benz supplied a fleet of 16 O 302 coach buses for it.

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The exterior of each O 302 was uniquely painted and decorated for each national team. The buses were painted a pale yellow with broad stripes in the country’s colors. The country’s name in German was branded on all sides of the bus in bold black block lettering. As an added touched flair, the national flags of the team were mounted on the roof.

The entire 16-bus fleet with the Argentine bus in the foreground.

The venerable Bauhaus-styled bus was fitted with a naturally-aspirated inline-six-cylinder diesel engine. The most powerful version of the diesel engine produced 240 horsepower. Mercedes built over 32,000 O 302 buses during its production run from 1965 until 1976.

I can’t remember the last time I saw ashtrays on a bus

Mercedes-Benz states that the buses’ interior amenities were considered luxurious in the 1970s, despite featuring fabric seat covers. The German automaker claims the O 302 was the first commercial bus that featured an air conditioning system with its roof-mounted Thermo King unit. Each O 302 also featured an onboard toilet, an ashtray at every seat and a beer tap. I can’t think of anything that would be a more luxurious passenger experience on the roads of 1970s West Germany.