A car that helped lay the foundation for the company we know today as Mercedes-Benz, which has just been sold at auction for $12,105,000. This is one of the highest costs ever paid for a car manufactured before 1930.
The car, a 60hp 1904 Mercedes-Simplex similar to the one pictured here, and sold at a Gooding auction.
The diversity of Simplex automobiles built through Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft since 1902 and the 60 HP edition introduced in 1903. Automobiles were known to be giant and powerful, making them popular among the wealthy.
The 60 hp built through Daimler on behalf of Emil Jellinek, who helped sell Daimler cars to consumers in France. He sold the cars under his daughter’s name, Mercedes, as a logo. While for many years it was thought that Mercedes was just a nickname for Jellinek’s daughter, also known as Adriana, she has discovered one of her original passports where her name is indexed as Mercedes. The Mercedes-Benz logo would remain in 1926, when Daimler merged with automaker Karl Benz.
Emil Jellinek and his daughter Mercedes
For the 60hp model, Jellinek demanded that the vehicle be much more sumptuous and rugged than previous Simplex models, as he intended to use it to promote the new concept of holiday road trips to Europe’s wealthy industrialists. Daimler fulfilled its promises by equipping the car with a 4-cylinder engine with a displacement of 9. 3 liters. This made the 60 hp a favorite among enthusiasts and early racers.
This specific 60hp was originally purchased through wealthy British newspaper and vehicle enthusiast Alfred C. W. Harmsworth, who founded newspapers such as the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror. He also helped advertise vehicles through publications, adding the e-book “Motors And Motor-Driving”. which included trials through figures such as vehicle pioneer John Montagu and Rolls-Royce co-founder Charles Rolls.
Harmsworth also took part in the car in various races, adding the famous Nice Speed Week on the French Riviera, where he was prepared in the garages of Villa Mercedes, Jellinek’s personal apartment in Nice. During the event, the car set a state kilometer record.
Eventually, Harmsworth removed the car from the festival and put a frame on it through the French coachbuilder J. It was at that point that the car got its license plate. The A 740 license plate is one of the first issued by the City of London, which began issuing license plates in 1903 starting with A1.
Harmsworth died in 1922 and the car passed into the hands of his son Alfred, who was only 12 years old at the time. It continued to be used, basically for presentations at exhibitions, until the 1960s, when, due to its ancient meaning, it was ready to last for a long time. It is a garage term and exhibited at the Beaulieu Motor Museum in Hampshire, UK.
As the car belonged to the same family, it remains in its original condition and a fully documented history only makes it more desirable to collectors.