Rare Mercedes 1903 sold for a record amount (31 photos)

It is generally accepted that the Mercedes brand appeared thanks to Emil Jellinek, a French enthusiast of the nascent automobile industry and a representative of the German company Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft. One of the first cars produced by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach under this brand was auctioned at Gooding for $12.1 million. Experts say this is a record for classic cars.





Mercedes Simplex 60 HP was a development of the Mercedes 35 HP model, created by automotive pioneers on the initiative of Jellinek. Its main advantage was the latest 9.25-liter engine, which allowed it to accelerate to 130 km/h. In combination with other developments, it provided this Mercedes with international recognition among wealthy fans of self-running strollers.

It was the Mercedes Simplex 60 HP that secured the fame of Daimler and Maybach cars as dual-purpose vehicles - comfortable carriages for every day, capable of simultaneously performing in difficult races. In the first half of the 1900s, this model won a huge number of different races organized by fans of technical progress.

In total, Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft built 102 Simplex with a 60 hp engine (there was also a 40 hp version). The car that was put up for auction was originally assembled for British businessman Alfred Harmsworth, who was considered one of the patrons of the nascent industry. This specimen holds, for example, the record for the mile race in Nice in 1903.

After several races, Harmsworth ordered a new luxurious body for his Mercedes from the Parisian atelier J. Rothschild et Fils, which the car still wears today. After the death of the businessman, the grand tourer was inherited by his son and was further passed down from generation to generation, although after World War II it was exhibited in one of the European museums for more than six decades.

According to the auction house, only five of these cars have survived to this day, and one of them, originally owned by Emil Jellinek, is kept in the Mercedes-Benz factory collection. In addition, it is claimed that this rarity has the most thoroughly documented history of sporting success. It is noteworthy that the Mercedes Simplex 60 HP was sold with a license plate issued to the first owner, that is, with one of the oldest registration plates in the UK.