[3] Friedrich considered a vehicle similar to an agricultural tractor – with a hitch and PTOs – but much more capable offroad, and equipped with all-wheel drive.

To reach a top speed of 50 km/h (31 mph), Friedrich considered a power output of 25 PS (18.4 kW; 24.7 hp) sufficient.

[5] Friedrich was eventually allowed to develop the vehicle, and permission was granted to build ten prototypes.

For this purpose, Friedrich signed a development contract with Erhard & Söhne, a jewelry factory from Schwäbisch Gmünd, which at that time produced gold and silver handicrafts.

Rößler put a lot of emphasis on the functionality of the vehicle; for instance, the track width measures 50 in (1,270 mm), which equals two rows of potatoes.

[7] Daimler-Benz had successfully brought the Mercedes-Benz OM 138 Diesel engine for passenger cars to market in the mid-1930s.

In 1948, said successor was ready for mass production, but Mercedes-Benz passenger cars were not yet scheduled to be equipped with this engine.

As they had a good relationship with Daimler-Benz, the engineers decided to use the OM 138's successor, which at the time was still in development.

This allowed Boehringer, originally a tool manufacturer, to avoid allied dismantling.

[16] Boehringer did not use modern methods of mass production, instead, all Unimogs were solely built by hand.

Starting in 1949, 90 additional employees worked on the Unimog project, and a sales and distribution network as well as a customer service team were established.

[16] This was insufficient to meet customer demands, and it was foreseeable that Boehringer would be incapable of manufacturing the Unimog over a long period of time.

[18] Erhard & Söhne, who manufactured the Unimog axles, remained a supplier for Daimler-Benz until 1963.

The OM 636 is a straight-four, water-cooled, naturally aspirated precombustion chamber, diesel engine with overhead valves with a displacement of 1.7 litres (100 cu in) and developing 25 PS (18 kW; 25 hp).