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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP 'Roi des Belges' - Race on Sunday, commute to work on Monday

Name: Mercedes-Simplex 60 PS 1903
Brand: Mercedes-Simplex

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Created on February 15, 2024

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Mercedes-Benz AG

Mathieu Heurtault - Courtesy Gooding & Co

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Mercedes-Benz AG

Mathieu Heurtault - Courtesy Gooding & Co

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP (1903) - around 1.87 meters wide

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP (1903) - an impressive vehicle

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP (1903) - wheelbase around 2.7 meters

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP (1903) - the tank is located at the very rear

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP (1903) - the people sitting in the back even sat behind the rear axle

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP (1903) - View of the vehicle from above

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP (1903) - with large honeycomb radiator

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP (1903) - 9235 cm3, 60 hp at 1600 rpm

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP (1903) - the four cylinders are arranged in pairs

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP (1903) - the driver's workplace

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP (1903) - Lever for ignition and mixture control

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP (1903) - as a driver you have to keep an eye on things

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP 'Roi des Belges' (1903) - you better know what you're doing in this "cockpit" ... - Rétromobile Paris 2024

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP (1903) - View of the rear seats

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP (1903) - Wheel hub

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP 'Roi des Belges' (1903) - on the Goodning & Co stand - Rétromobile Paris 2024

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 PS (1903) - at the International Rally of Antique Automobiles on May 18-22, 1966 in Ireland

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Wilhelm Maybach, who designed the Mercedes Simplex among other things, lived from 1846 to 1929

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Mercedes-Simplex 28/32 PS (1901) - around 60 km/h fast

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Mercedes-Simplex 28/32 PS (1901) - "Dashboard"

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Mercedes-Simplex 32 HP (1902) - 5.3 liter displacement, 32 hp, approx. 60 km/h

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Mercedes-Simplex 35 HP (1903) - one of the many variants

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Mercedes-Simplex 40 HP (1902) - at the races in Nice

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Mercedes-Simplex 40 HP (1903) - on a trip in the eighties

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Mercedes-Simplex 18 PS (1902) - Wilhelm Maybach (in light-colored suit) presents his car to potential buyers in Cannstatt

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Mercedes-Simplex 18 hp (1903) - View of the engine and valve train

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Mercedes-Simplex 18 PS (1903) - View of the engine from the exhaust side

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Mercedes-Simplex 18/22 hp (1904) - with extended wheelbase

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Mercedes-Simplex 20 PS (1902) - for the whole family

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Mercedes-Simplex 28 HP (1904) - with tonneau body and sunroof

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Mercedes-Simplex 28 hp (1904) - with coupé body and side entry

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Mercedes-Simplex 40 hp (1901) - this vehicle was delivered to Emil Jellinek on March 22, 1901

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Mercedes-Simplex 40 hp (1902) - William K. Vanderbilt Jr. at the wheel of his Simplex, a helper cranks the engine

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Mercedes-Simplex 40 hp (1904) - the longitudinally mounted four-cylinder in the front

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Mercedes-Simplex 40 PS (1904) - with Phaeton body

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Mercedes-Simplex 40 PS (1904) - fully bodied

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - Baron Pierre de Caters at the start of the Nice-La Turbie hill climb in 1903

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - Baron Pierre de Caters at the Nice-La Turbie hill climb in 1903

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - Camille Jenatzy on the Moat of Ardscull at the IV Gordon Bennett Race in Ireland on July 2, 1903

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - Camille Jenatzy at the IV Gordon Bennett Race in Ireland in 1903

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - Camille Jenatzy wins the Gordon Bennett race in Ireland in 1903

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - Camille Jenatzy wins the IV Gordon Bennett Race in Ireland in 1903

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - Camille Jenatzy's winning car at the IV Gordon Bennett Race in Ireland in 1903

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - the winning car of Camille Jenatzy at the IV Gordon Bennett Race in Ireland in 1903, a repurchased customer car

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - Camille Jenatzy's winning car in the IV Gordon Bennett Race in Ireland in 1903, a repurchased customer car

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - the winner Camille Jenatzy at the IV Gordon Bennett Race in Ireland in 1903

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 PS (1903) - the Mercedes garage in Nice before the Turbi mountain race

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - Foxhall Keene with mechanic Willy Lüttgen - the two drop out of the IV Gordonn-Bennett Race 1903 in Ireland due to a broken axle

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - Gordon Bennett racing car by Camille Jenatzy

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - coachbuilt as a touring car

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 PS (1903) - with Phaeton bodywork

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - Otto Hieronimus at the Nice-La Turbie hill climb in 1903 (Ferdinand Porsche can still be seen at the back)

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - Pierre de Caters at the IV Gordon Bennett Race in Ireland

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1903) - Victory and running time record for Otto Hieronimus at the Nice-La Turbie hill climb in 1903

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Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp (1904) - with tonneau phaeton body and American soft top

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Napier (1903) - Edge crossed the finish line too late and was no longer classified in the IV Gordon Bennett Race in Ireland in 1903

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Mercedes Simplex (1904) at the Geneva Motor Show 2011 - Overall view

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Mercedes Simplex (1904) at the Geneva Motor Show 2011 - Details

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Mercedes Simplex (1904) at the Geneva Motor Show 2011 - Details Geneva Motor Show

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Mercedes Simplex (1906) - Schloss Dyck Classic Days 2011

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Mercedes Simplex (1905) - in the transport center of the Deutsches Museum

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Mercedes-Simplex 40 HP (1902) - as once delivered to Emil Jellinek_ZGIPWerk

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Mercedes Simplex 60 HP (1904) - one of the forerunners of the S-Class - at Retro Classics Stuttgart 2013

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Mercedes Simplex 60 HP (1904) - already had many of the virtues of the later S-Class - at Retro Classics Stuttgart 2013

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Impressions from the Techno Classica 2013 - the ancestors of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, in front the Simplex, behind it a 770

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Adler 35 PS (1906) - the car belongs to the ASC, it is the "president's car", which was bequeathed to the club by the late president Klaus Schoof in 1960 - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2018

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Mercedes-Simplex 40 HP (1902) - 4 cylinders, 5319 cm3 displacement

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Mercedes-Simplex 40 hp (1903) - famous for its simple handling at the time, hence "Simplex" - Retro Classics Stuttgart 2020

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Mercedes Simplex (1907) - easier to drive than the competition - Techno Classica Essen 2022

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Mercedes Simplex 60 HP (1903) - St. Moritz/Samedan Kilomètre Lancé 2022

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Mercedes Simplex 60 HP (1903) - Bernina Gran Turismo hill climb 2022

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Summary

A top speed of over 130 km/h or even 150 km/h may no longer seem impressive today, but 120 years ago such performance was certainly possible. With a new Mercedes-Simplex, you could drive straight to high-speed races, win there and then chug home again, safe in the knowledge that you would arrive safely and reliably afterwards. Only a few examples of the Mercedes-Simplex have survived, one of the most famous will soon be auctioned, a good reason to take a look back.

This article contains the following chapters

Maybach's wonder car
Driving needs to be learned
Before driving, there was starting ....
Racing success right from the start
The Gordon Bennet victory of 1903
Only a few surviving 60 HP variants
Owned by the same family for over 120 years

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Driving a car 120 years ago was anything but easy, and even the Mercedes Simplex, despite its name, required a certain amount of driving skill if you wanted to make fast progress. But if you had this, you could be waved off as the winner in the most important car races of the time with a car almost off the shelf. Wilhelm Maybach (born on February 9, 1846 in Löwenstein) was the technical conscience of early car manufacturer Gottlieb Daimler. He began working as an engineer and designer in Cannstatt in 1882. He initially helped develop high-speed gas and petrol engines, but in 1889 Maybach was able to convince Daimler that the engine and vehicle should be designed as a single unit.

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