MERCEDES SIMPLEX – year 1902

Manufacturer: Daimler Motors AG, Canstatt, Germany.

In time, when new car factories are being built in Germany such, like Adler, Dixi and NAG debuted mostly with small car models to 7 kW (10 KM), the pioneering company Daimler continued to produce powerful multi-cylinder cars.

A successful representative of the new Daimler models was the Mercedes Simplex travel car. Its creator Wilhelm Maybach used many design innovations. The front-mounted Bosch 4-cylinder magneto engine had a displacement 3050 cm3, cylinder diameter 110 mm, a stroke of the piston 140 mm. He was developing maximum power 24 kW (33 KM) by 1200 RPM. Ball bearings are used instead of plain bearings, an accelerator pedal was introduced instead of manual gas regulation and a new method of engine lubrication. The gearbox had four forward gears and a reverse gear. The drive was transferred to the rear wheels by means of chains. Mechanical brakes acted on the wheels. Elongated, low-slung box-beam frame, the longer wheelbases and wheelbases allowed for a better center of gravity and a more comfortable ride. Simplex had maximum speed 60 km/h.

Of course, such a car had to have an elegant and functional body. That is why Simplex was produced in different versions: Tonneau, Double phaeton, Phaeton lub touring car.

Mercedes Simplex presented a modern concept of a car. Most cars today have a frame made of box profiles with a fixed body, the engine and radiator located in the front of the car and the seats in the rear.