Deal with Austrian Businessman Secures Daimler’s Racing Future

Deal with Austrian Businessman Secures Daimler’s Racing Future - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston

Oh… no… sorry… wrong photo.

Hang on a minute…

Emil Jellinek - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston
Emil Jellinek

There we go!

December 22nd 2020 will be the 120th anniversary of the first car, as we know it. Commissioned by the gentleman in the photo – Austrian businessman & diplomat, Emil Jellinek – the 35HP model was designed by Wilhelm Maybach and Paul Daimler. A purpose-made long & wide steel chassis. A powerful 5.9 litre 4-cylinder engine, mounted low to help the centre-of-gravity. Electric sparking by Bosch… This most definitely was not a ‘horseless carriage’. This was the first modern car, and it was built to race.

The Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft racing programme had come to a sudden stop in March 1900 when chief mechanic Wilhelm Bauer was killed at the Nice-La Turbie race. The DMG he was racing was entered by Emil Jellinek – DMG’s French distributor, and automotive evangelist.

La Turbie, 1900 - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston
La Turbie, 1900
La Turbie, 1900 - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston

DMG were chastened, Jellinek less so. Just three days after La Turbie, a deal was struck. Jellinek would set out the criteria for a new Daimler racing car, and Maybach would be given the freedom to interpret them. “…it will be the car of the day after tomorrow”. Jellinek placed an initial order for thirty-eight of the new model, plus another thirty-six standard 8HP cars – delivered by year’s end. The cost? 500,000 Goldmark – but for that Jellinek wanted exclusive rights to the new car, and a seat on the board. It was, perhaps, the best deal Daimler ever made.

Work started immediately – with Jellinek overseeing the project via daily telegrams and trips to Stuttgart. By 22nd November the car was ready for testing – Jellinek taking delivery of the first example at Nice railway station on Saturday, 22nd December, 1900. This first 35HP model – already pre-sold to Henri de Rothschild – was the revolution Jellinek had hoped for.

1901 35HP, 4-seat passenger version - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston
1901 35HP, 4-seat passenger version

The new car was immediately put to it’s intended work – Jellinek entering a six-car squad in the Grand Prix du Sud-Ouest. The Automobile Club de Béarn’s 300-kilometre road race was a tough opening to the season, coming just a couple of weeks after the delivery of the new cars. Too much, too soon. The 35HPs suffered the multiple technical issues to be expected with a brand-new racing car. Victory in the heavy car class went to Maurice Farman on a Panhard 24HP. Undaunted, plans were made for ‘Nice Week’.

1901 Nice-La Turbie - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston

One year on from Daimler’s tragedy, five of the new cars lined-up for the 1901 Nice-La Turbie… and they crushed the opposition! Wilhelm Werner – the Kaiser’s driver – on that first Rothschild 35HP broke all records, in all classes. Maxing-out at 53mph, he won at an average speed of 31.9mph… the existing race record was 19.4mph! Motoring would never be the same again.

1901 Nice-La Turbie - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston

This tale has one more historical twist.

Emil Jellinek named the new car that he had created. As with his house, and his racing team, he named it after his 10-year-old daughter Adriana… or rather, his pet name for her. This new machine, that would revolutionise transport & racing was called… Mercédès.

"Mercédès" Jellinek - Racing Daydreams by Colin Johnston
“Mercédès” Jellinek

The Daimler production lines were flat-out in 1901. The demand for ‘family’ versions of the Mercédès 35hp – and smaller capacity models – was huge, and by September 1902 ‘Mercédès’ was a Daimler trademark. The brand so instantly synonymus – iconic – that in June 1903 Emil changed his name to Jellinek-Mercédès. “This is probably the first time that a father has taken his daughter’s name”.

The new century – The Century of the Automobile – was soon to be very cruel to the Jellinek family, but their legacy is undeniable. At the conclusion of that dominant first win in 1901, Paul Meyan of the Automobile Club de France stated, “We have entered the Mercédès era.”. No matter what vehicle you choose, I believe we are still in the Mercédès era – thanks to those events, 120 years ago.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Articles

Racing Daydreams - Lautenschlager 1914 ACF
Featured Grands Prix

Bill Mason’s Finest – Racing Mercedes

How lucky we are that film-maker Bill Mason shared our passion, and used his talent & time to leave a legacy for future generations. From the outset, that first Shell film of the 1949 British Grand Prix, Bill’s work attracted & inspired followers of motor racing. Increasingly, as the decades have passed, the films have […]

Read More...
Racing Daydreams - Ardscull
Featured Grands Prix Ireland

The Road to Ballyshannon – Gordon Bennett

It’s not so much raining as there’s more humidity than the sky can bear. It pattered down most of the night. Now it hangs in the air – spritzes as you walk. I quietly leave the rooms, grab a cap from the car, and walk to the town square. Past the memorial plaque, and the […]

Read More...
Racing Daydreams - Mote of Ardscull
Featured Ireland Myths & Curios

Chasing the Ghosts – Gordon Bennett

I’ve always considered ‘Racing Daydreams’ to be an attitude. The willingness to look beyond presented information, armed with some knowledge and an empathy for times & people past. How better to explore and take joy from our sport? Similarly approached, locations too can rattle the senses. Standing in silence at the top of Dundrod. Inhale […]

Read More...