BENZ – year 1908

Benz & You, Rheinische Gasmotorenfabrik AG, Mannheim, Germany.

The second German company, who put their cars to the test in the stiff Grand Prix racing competition, was the Benz factory in Mannheim. Her cars drove in the ACF Grand Prix races at Dieppe in 1908 of the year for advertising reasons, French athletes Victor Hemery and Rene Hanriot, who finished second and third. They achieved an average speed in the competition 108,9 i 108,7 km/h.

Model Benz z 1908 He had a four-cylinder engine with OHV valve timing. With diameter 155 mm and piston stroke 200 mm total capacity reached 15 100 cm3. Two candles are placed in each cylinder, taking energy from a high-voltage spark gap. The engine was making power 110,3 kW (150 KM) by 1500 RPM.

The steel-framed chassis had rigid axles suspended on semi-elliptical leaf springs. The handbrake acted directly on the rear wheels. Footbrake, controlled by two independent pedals, it allowed the braking of the left or right sprocket, thus changing the distribution of driving and braking forces on the rear wheels. The driving force was transferred from the engine to the chain transmission via a clutch and a four-speed gearbox. The fuel tank was placed in a manner typical for racing cars of that time – behind the driver's and mechanic's seats. The car was equipped with three spare tires and reached maximum speed 162 km/h. A novelty at these races was the arrangement of boxes, where the players mentioned:. in. tires.

A disproportionate increase in expenditure on the development of racing cars, already significantly different from passenger cars, as well as the lack of uniform racing rules resulted, That 13 firm, also Benz, withdrew from participation in the next Grand Prix competition.