Mercedes 35 hp
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| Mercedes 35 HP | |
|---|---|
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| Manufacturer | Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft |
| Predecessor | Phoenix |
| Successor | Mercedes 40hp |
| Engine(s) | 5918 cm³ Straight-4 35 hp (950 rpm) |
| Transmission(s) | 4-forward/1-reverse |
| Wheelbase | 2.345 m |
| Width | 1.345 m |
| Curb weight | 1,200 kg |
The Mercedes 35 hp was an early car model designed in 1901 by Wilhelm Maybach for Emil Jellinek and produced in Stuttgart, Germany by the Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG), a predecessor of Daimler-Benz and their Mercedes-Benz automobiles, and which later merged again to become DaimlerChrysler.
It is regarded as one of the first real race cars. Originally designed as a racing car, the Mercedes was also made for normal road use.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG)
DMG was a car company based in Cannstatt, Stuttgart, combining the previous companies of Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach who had revolutionized the motor world with their inventions.
DMG built automobiles using the Daimler and Maybach 4 cylinder, 8 hp, DMG-Phoenix engine first built in 1894 which had also been used in many of the early European car races.
[edit] Wilhelm Maybach
In the nineteenth century, Wilhelm Maybach's career as an industrial designer had been with Gottlieb Daimler where they pioneered petrol engine production together and were responsible for designing and making some of the world's first automobiles.
[edit] Emil Jellinek
Emil Jellinek was a wealthy Austrian businessman and Austro-Hungarian diplomat living in Nice on the French Riviera.
His ten year old daughter was called Mercedes, from the Spanish word meaning mercy, given to her to commemorate her French mother's Sepharadi family background. Jellinek named many of his possessions after her such as his mansions, the automobiles he sold, his racing car team, etc. He himself was often known as Monsieur Mercedes.
 Emil Jellinek |
 Adriana Manuela Ramona Jellinek called Mércédès |
[edit] The first Mercedes 35 hp
| Overall stability at high speeds: Large wheelbase. Wide track. Low center of gravity (lower engine). | |
|---|---|
| 75 km/h (45 mph). 35 hp (950 rpm). Engine speed 300 to 1000 rpm. | |
| Light high performance engine: 4 In Line cylinders. Bore/stroke ratio: 116x140 mm. Displacement: 5918 cc. Cylinder heads part of the castings. Two carburetors, one for each cylinder-pair. Driver-controlled intake-valves's throttling. Two camshafts. | |
| Low-voltage magneto ignition. | |
| Aluminium crankcase (pioneer), horizontally divided. | |
| 4-forward/1-reverse transmission. | |
| Lower weight : Press steel framework. Lightweight metals. Trimmed amount of frames. | |
| Honeycomb radiator. | |
| Comfortable wheel-drive. | |
Jellinek was so impressed by the DMG-Phoenix models that he signed up two cars to compete in the Nice-La Turbie competition (1899 season, March 30), using the Mercedes name for both the team and the cars.
DMG had commissioned Wilhelm Bauer, to prepare a racing version of the Phoenix engine but he unexpectedly decided to compete in the race himself. The adventure ended in tragedy because Bauer was killed after the first bend. This caused DMG to cancel all further involvement in motorsport.
Nonetheless, Jellinek persuaded DMG to have design a new model that could compete again the following year and agreed to buy thirty-six of these cars for the large sum of 500,000 goldmarks. He insisted that the engine in the new model was to be developed by Maybach and named Daimler-Mercedes and its delivery was to be made before October 15, 1900.
Jellinek specified some revolutionary improvements. The Mercedes should be longer, wider and with a lower center of gravity than other contemporary cars. This was the key element in its design, abandoning the unstable motorised coaches with their narrow high bodies that were prone to overturning. The Mercedes would have a light steel body and strong chassis with the engine firmly fixed to it.
Over the following months Jellinek oversaw developments at first by a series of daily telegrams and later personal visits. Maybach tested the new car for the first time on November 22 and Jellinek received his first delivery on December 22.
[edit] Developments after 1901
In the Nice-La Turbie event of March 1902, Emil Jellinek sought victory with five Mercedes enlisting the German driver Wilhelm Werner. The cars dominated the race from start to finish with a record average speed of 51.4 km/h (30 mph), beating the previous 31.3 km/h (20 mph) and reaching top speeds of 86 km/h (55 mph). Those results easily outclassed all the rival cars in every capacity class. The automotive world was so astonished that Paul Meyan, director of the French Automobile Club, stated: "We have entered the Mercedes era".
In Stuttgart, DMG mounted two additional back seats on the Mercedes-35hp, transforming it to a family car and between March and August of 1901, added two more Mercedes (car) models, the 12/16 hp and the 8/11 hp. Overall, the business became so successful that the production lines ran at full capacity.
The Mercedes (car) trademark was used on DMG production automobiles from June 23, 1902 to 1926, although it was formally registered only on September 26, 1902. Mainly, DMG adopted this brand name because "Daimler" already was registered by Panhard & Levasor for all of France, which was the largest automobile market at the time. In June 1903, Emil Jellinek changed his own name to Jellinek-Mercedes, saying: "This is probably the first time that a father has taken his daughter's name".
Often confused with this Mercedes brand automobile are the cars of the Daimler-Benz company, formed in a 1926 merger of DMG and Karl Benz's Benz & Cie., which were called by a new brand name, Mercedes-Benz, regardless of in which plant they were produced after the merger. A commitment was made for the two companies to remain together until 2000. Mercedes-Benz has endured as one of the world's great brands and is now the property of DaimlerChrysler. Over nineteen million automobiles have been sold using that brand name. In 2007 it was announced that the Chrysler portion of the corporation was up for sale.
[edit] Technical description of the Mercedes 35 hp
[edit] Dimensions
The Mercedes 35 hp had a wheelbase of 2.345 metres and a track of 1.400 metres. Its wooden wheels were all the same size.
The total weight was also dramatically reduced to 1,200 kg by making the main chassis frame of pressed steel of carefully designed U-shaped cross section.
The relatively light engine (230 kg, 34.3 kilograms/hp) was mounted over the front axle without any extra sub frames.
[edit] The axles
The wooden wheels of the Mercedes 35 hp were non-removable, featuring:
- 12 spokes
- steel covers
- nearly identical pneumatic tires of 910x90-front / 1020x120-rear
There were two braking systems one hand operated and the other by foot.
- The main brake was the hand brake which acted on the rear wheels which had 30 centimeter drums.
- The secondary, foot brake, acted on the chain drive's intermediate shaft and was water-cooled.
Both axles were rigid, equipped with semi-elliptic springs. The steering-axles were designed to minimise transmission of road shocks to the driver.
The steering column was inclined backwards unlike the vertical shaft on many of its contemporaries.
[edit] Drive system
The engine of the Mercedes 35 hp was at the front of the car driving the rear wheels through a large roller chain.
The gearshift was at the driver's right side, featuring a gate change system with four forward speeds and a reverse gear. The drum like compact clutch system was attached to the flywheel.
The flywheel consisted of a self-adjustable coil spring made up of wound spring steel. The tension at which the clutch operated was regulated by a conical cam.
[edit] Engine
The main bearings were made of magnalium, an aluminium alloy with 5% of magnesium. The crankcase was also made of aluminium.
The four cylinders, cast in grey iron with fixed heads, gave a total displacement of 5,918 cc (bore/stroke: 116x140 mm), and were arranged in pairs each pair with a single spray-nozzle carburetor.
The intake and exhaust valves were no longer opened by cylinder pressure but by camshafts at both sides of the engine driven by gears from the flywheel.
The engine also incorporated:
- low-voltage magneto with make and break spark ignition. This was fitted at Jellinek's demand, replacing the antiquated hot tube system.
- pumped water cooling system
- fan behind the radiator
The engine was started by a hand crank aided by the presence of a decompressor.
Maybach's tubular radiator, patented in 1897, known as a honeycomb radiator, was similar to other contemporary ones. Its rectangular grille had 8,070 pipes of 6x6 mm each with a square cross section to improve airflow, and holding 9 litres of water. The airflow was assisted by a fan located behind the radiator.
The Mercedes 35 hp engine ran between 300 and 1000 rpm, the speed controlled by the driver using a lever on the steering wheel. Its peak output was 35 hp at 950 rpm.
The road car's average speed was 70-75 km/h (45 mph). The racing version achieved 85 km/h (50 mph).
[edit] See also
- Mercedes (car)
- Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft
- Mercedes-Benz
- Wilhelm Maybach
- Emil Jellinek
- Mercedes Simplex
| Preceded by [[]] |
Fastest street-legal production car 85 km/h |
Succeeded by Mercedes 60hp |
