Daimler’s first vehicle was actually a motorbike (called a ‘single track’ in that time) running 0.5bhp. While it was operated successfully by Daimler’s oldest son and the design patented, it was not developed further. Daimler went on to produce a power boat one of several sold was bought by Prince Otto von Bismark.
Daimler went on to produce a powered tram, a taxi, fire engines, timber saws, and even the world’s first dirigible – a powered balloon – with balloonist Dr Karl Wolfert. The development of Daimler cars continued giving rise to new technology advancements and interest from France.
The world’s first successful four wheeled car was created by Daimler in 1886 (at the same time Benz was making his three wheeled car), running a 1.5bhp water cooled engine in a converted horse drawn carriage.In 1981 Peugot began using Daimler engines, and by 1894 Peugot cars had finished 2nd, 3rd and 5th to Count Albert de Dion’s steam powered car in the Paris-Rouen trials. Panhard et Levassor also used a Daimler engine in the car that famously travelled 745 miles in 49 hours – quite a feat for the day! After briefly leaving the company to focus on further research, Daimler and Maybach returned to Daimler Motoren-Gesellschaft with production being the focal point of the team’s efforts.
Gottlieb Daimler – Pt 1
Born in 1834 to a successful baker, Daimler was the second oldest of four boys. From an early age he showed talent at geometry and maths and began an apprenticeship with a gun maker where his hard work and creativity were nurtured. After winning a scholarship Daimler furthered his studies and went on to join a locomotive company. Similar to Benz, Daimler was not interested in steam works and eventually moved on to focusing on the four-stroke combustion engine as technical director at Otto & Langen (after working in England with Armstrong Whitworth & Roberts & Co.). Daimler made his mark on Otto & Langen by introducing a quality management system that is still in place today. Unfortunately, Daimler fell out with Otto & Langen over his desire to focus on research and development. At this stage the gas engine business was doing quite well, and the company was focused on production to meet consumer need. Daimler finally set up his own workshop with Wilhelm Maybach (a friend from Otto & Langen) in 1882, and within a year they had successfully developed hot-tube ignition to its technological limitations. Daimler utilized a fuel tank and a single cylinder engine running on petrol (as opposed to other vehicles which ran on gas that had to be piped from a main line) to run his engine at 900rpm, a very high speed for the time.
Karl Benz – Pt 2
When the patent held by Otto was brought into question, Benz made the switch to a four-stroke single cylinder to power his first car – a three wheeled, custom designed vehicle. Benz had developed a clever design to make the most of the tiny 0.9hp being generated by the single cylinder engine, using technology that is still on modern cars today, including mechanically operated inlet valves, an incredibly advanced differential, electrical ignition and water cooling. This first car made by Benz in 1886 had three wheels and reached 7.5mph (12km/h). Unfortunately for Benz, the authorities and bureaucracy at the time choked development and commercial appeal bringing Benz to the edge of the financial abyss. New financial backing and the success of his stationary petrol engines allowed Benz to focus on making his first four wheeled vehicle (after overcoming the steering problem) in 1892. Later in 1897, with power advancements from the first two-cylinder motor and the abandonment of the heavy horizontal flywheel went into making the 5hp and 8hp Benz cars. Benz was slow to became involved in motor racing and when he finally engaged in it he had some success, but less than his competitors. Benz was equally reluctant to move with the technological advancements of the day (e.g. friction clutch & gearbox to the rear wheels) and was resistant to increases in speed. These factors meant Benz was beginning to lose customers and fall behind in the technology race.
Karl Benz – Pt.1
Karl Benz was given a quality education by his mother, despite his father (a railway mechanic) dying of pneumonia when he was two years old and the family suffering financially. Benz was tutored by Ferdinand Redenbacher at the Karlsruhe Polytechnic where his interest in the recently developed gas engine was increased by having the opportunity to work on one in 1861. Graduating in 1864, Benz initially worked for a locksmith before becoming a fitter for a locomotive company. It was here that Benz realized the limitations of the steam engine and began to appreciate the future that lay in the internal combustion engine. Benz worked for several other engineering firms before setting up his own workshops to develop his own gas engine. Unfortunately for Benz, the business struggled, but not before advancements had been made on a two-stroke engine design. This was a bold move as Dr Nikolaus Otto had recently had considerable success with his four-stroke design; the design that lay the foundations for the modern car engine (i.e. Otto’s cycle). After falling out with his partners, Benz created his new gas engine manufacturing business ‘Benz & Co.’. However, it was fitting the engine to a car that interested Benz the most, and by 1884 Benz had his two-stroke engine running battery and trembler coil ignition instead of the old ‘hot-tube’ ignition used by other manufacturers (including Daimler).
The Origin of Daimler and Benz
More than a symbol of esteem and success, the Mercedes-Benz logo (the star with three points)symbolizes Gottlieb Damiler’s vision of developing modes of transport for land, sea and air. Thefamous Mercedes Benz emblem has always stood for the highest quality of engineering anddesign. It was first placed on the radiators of Mercedes automobiles in the early 1900s without thering surrounding the star. It was not until 1923 that it was placed inside a ring and made to standon the bonnets of all Mercedes cars.
Neither Karl Benz nor Gottlieb Daimler invented the automobile, that was accomplished by morethan 100 years before hand by Joseph Cugnot and his steam propelled car. Even the honor ofdeveloping the combustion engine fell to someone else (Etienne Lenoir).The fascinating thingabout Benz and Daimler is that they both managed to succeed where so many others had failedin harnessing the power of the internal combustion engine for the road going vehicle. Even moreamazing is that they did so independently of each other, without any collaboration, both producinga petrol powered vehicle in 1886 through different avenues of ingenuity.
