The Mercedes Simplex was an automobile produced in 1902 by the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft. This remarkable automobile heralded from that early generation shortly became the finest automobile that could be bought anywhere in the world. Mercedes Simplex 28 HP Tourer is the model that quickly followed the first ‘real’ automobile – the 35 HP Mercedes. CLcompany is delighted to feature the facts about the 1902’s Classic Mercedes Simplex.
Flashback
Emil Jellinek, an Austrian businessman, had a deep love for new technologies and the motorcar. Using the nickname Monsieur “Mercedes,” his daughter’s name, and with the help of the Daimler Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG), he entered two Daimler “Phoenix” racing automobiles with 28 HP engines in the Nice race week in March of 1900. Soon after, he asked Maybach (designer of 35 HP Mercedes) at DMG to create a whole line of vehicles with the 28 HP engine, which he called Mercedes-Simplex because of their elegantly simple engineering.
Years in production – 1902 to 1909
The Design
The Mercedes Simplex was designed by Wilhelm Maybach in Stuttgart, Germany. It had strong engines with capacities ranging from 40 to 60 horsepower. It possessed a low center of gravity due to its broad, massive body. The model 60 hp was a standout member of the Simplex series. It was unlike anything else at the time and immediately became popular with monarchs and aristocrats. With this car, Mercedes set the groundwork for a new automotive category, the super-luxury class.
Its enormous size and comforts were to serve as the benchmarks for the growth of this segment, which was carried on by various models over the course of the following seventy or so years.
Top Specifications of Mercedes Simplex 18/28 hp
- Displacement – 4084 cc
- Power – 28 hp @ 1200 rpm
- Transmission – 4-speed manual transmission
- Top speed – 80 km/h
- Kerb weight – 1250 kg
- Wheelbase – 2100 or 2400 mm
Interesting facts
- It is the oldest road-going automobile in the world to bear the Mercedes name.
- The 1904 entry-level model of the Simplex product line, the 18/28 hp Simplex seen in “Magical Moments,” follows the same design principles as its more powerful sister models.
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