Classic stories
… the first successful car built by Mercedes was designed only because a client pestered its makers so much
THE story begins with Emil Jellinek (18531918; pictured), AustriaHungary’s Consul General to France. He lived in Nice and, every March, the authorities there organised a speed week consisting of a number of short races. In 1899, Jellinek won all the events driving a Dmg-phoenix, a vehicle made by the Stuttgartbased company founded by Gottlieb Daimler (DMG: Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft).
This success allowed him to establish a close relationship with DMG and he made full use of it. Despite his success, Jellinek was nonetheless critical of the cars, sending a letter to Gottlieb Daimler saying his engineers “should be locked up in an insane asylum”. Daimler was annoyed but his chief designer, Willhelm Maybach, agreed that improvements were necessary.
Jellinek, an experienced driver, visited the factory on a number of occasions and urged Maybach to design a completely new car that would overcome the faults found on so many contemporary designs. The car should have a longer wheelbase and a wider track to improve roadholding. The engine should also be mounted further back and lower in the frame, and have electric ignition instead of the old-fashioned hot tube that was then quite common.
Maybach listened and, in April 1900, an agreement was signed that, by 15 October, the company would design and build 36 units of a completely new car to be called the Mercedes. This was the name of Jellinek’s oldest daughter and was chosen for the new car because PanhardLevassor owned the Daimler licences for France. Jellinek became a member of DMG’S board of management and was offered the exclusive dealership for Mercedes for France, AustriaHungary, Belgium and the USA.
To make sure the car he practi- cally willed into existence would reach production, Jellinek then constantly pestered the staff at DMG via telegrams and even visits to make sure his vehicle would be ready for the 1901 Speed Week in March. He took delivery of the first car on 22 December 1900 and prepared it for the event. Jellinek promptly won all races with ease and reached the unheard-of speed of 60 km/h. DMG sales subsequently shot up and the number of employees increased from 340 in 1900 to 2 200 in 1904. This Mercedes is considered to be the first car with a modern layout, as most components are where you will find them today.