It was a bright early Spring day in March 1901, when the Nice-Salon-Nice race was won by the new Daimler 35 hp, one of the first 'modern' motorcars, with Werner at the wheel. It was a bright day, too, for the daughter of Austrian banker Emile Jellinek. Her beauty was famed throughout the Cote d'Azur, and she received a warm ovation from the grandstand. The name of the new automobile was chosen not by the man who built it, but by Jellinek, who was contracted to sell it. He made the radical decision to drop the name 'Daimler', which up until then had been applied to all cars produced by the Cannstatt factory. To the Austrian Jellinek, 'Daimler' sounded too Germanic and ugly. The new car owed much to Jellinek, the Daimler representative for the Cote d'Azur. He wanted to strengthen his position as a car salesman, and requested the new design in time for the Nice motor race, hoping to cash in on the publicity of winning the race. To win the race, however, something better than the 24 hp Phenix currently being turned out of the Cannstatt factory was needed. A new 35 hp motor was the answer. Jellinek took a considerable risk, contracting to buy 36 of the new cars and undertaking distribution in France, Belgium, Austria-Hungary and America. Maybach was by now the most important figure in Cannstatt, though he was always overshadowed by the aging Daimler. Maybach rose to the challenge and produced a vehicle full of innovative ideas, which was to set the standard for many years to come. This was the first use of a pressed steel chassis. The engine was front-mounted, with a real bonnet, and one of the first honeycomb radiators in front. The car boasted magneto ignition, mechanical valves, selective gate gearchange, and a four-cylinder in-line motor of close to six-litre capacity. The resulting 35 bhp was sufficient to ensure a good chance in the Nice-Salon-Nice race and many races to come. When the first models were already in production, the question of what to name the car remained undecided. There was some opposition to dropping Gottlieb Daimler's name at a time when he was seriously ill, but Jellinek's resolve won the day. In fact Daimler died soon after, so further embarrassment was spared. Maybach's "white jewel" was soon to become synonymous with prestige amongst rich Europeans. The car that won the day at Nice in that far-off Spring shared the name of the daughter who was the jewel of her father's eye and the toast of the Cote d'Azur - Mercedes. |
