MERCEDES – year 1914

Daimler Motor Company, Stuttgart, Germany.

Grand Prix ACF racing z 1914 of the year are considered the largest car competition before the First World War. They certainly deserve it because of the great number of participants, who represented 14 teams and enjoyed 57 cars of different companies. In addition to the already known Peugeot vehicles, Fiat, Mercedes, Sunbeam and Delage also showed new models: Aida, Austin, Aquila, Italian, Nazzaro, Nagant, Opel, Piccard-Pictet, Theo Schneider i Vauxhall. The rules turned back to 1914 year by limiting engine capacity to 4,5 liter. The Givors circuit near Lyon was temporarily selected, about the length 37,6 km, which competitors had to run twenty times.

The German team prepared five Mercedes cars for the races. This team consisted of a Lautenschlager, Department, Salzera, Wagnera and Pilletta. Pills, and especially Salzer, they were tasked with defeating competitors. Salzer not only achieved his goal thanks to his crazy driving, but he also scored a lap record. The Lautenschlager won with an average speed 105,55 km/h, the second was Wagner, and the third, Salzer.

The constructor - Paul Daimler - used engines modeled on the proven four-valve OHC aircraft engines, reaching power 84,6 kW (115 KM) by 2800 RPM. Diameter cylinders 93 mm and piston stroke 165 mm are made as separate elements. The total engine displacement was 4483 cm3. The camshaft was driven by a king shaft from a crankshaft arranged in five pressure-lubricated slide bearings. The driving force was transmitted through a multi-disc clutch, a four-speed gearbox and an interestingly designed differential for the rear axle. They were basically two bevel gears, separate for each axle shaft, interconnected by a conical differential. The frame, suspended on semi-elliptical springs, was bent between the axles, thanks to which it was possible to significantly lower the center of gravity of the vehicle. The mechanical brakes only acted on the rear wheels. It was actually the last Grand Prix winning car with such brakes. The Mercedes had a weight of approx 1000 kg and reached maximum speed 180 km/h.