Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft
Mercedes 35 hp (first Mercedes)

Why it matters

Built on Emil Jellinek's initiative, the 35 hp is regarded as the first modern automobile: it abandoned the carriage layout for a low, long-wheelbase design with a light engine and a honeycomb radiator. It gave the Mercedes name to a product for the first time and dominated Nice race week in 1901.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

History

After Nice race week in March 1900, DMG and Jellinek agreed that a new engine would carry the name Daimler-Mercedes. Wilhelm Maybach and engine designer Josef Brauner then created a new car; the first was completed on 22 November 1900 and shipped to Jellinek on 22 December after trials. DMG decided on regular production five days earlier.

At Nice race week in March 1901, works driver Wilhelm Werner won the long-distance race, the sprint and the La Turbie hill climb in a car owned by Baron Henri de Rothschild, raising the hill-climb average from 31.3 to 51.4 km/h. Werner reached 86 km/h over the flying kilometre.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

The defining feature is the honeycomb radiator built from about 5800 small square tubes, which halved the cooling water to 9 litres and became the brand-defining front of Mercedes cars. The car has a pressed steel U-section frame, the engine mounted directly on the joined front frame members, and an inclined steering column.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   Mercedes 35 hp racing and touring car, 1900 / 1901 Level A Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Mercedes-Benz Public Archive (Classic M@RS)

   • cylinders cast together in pairs with the cylinder heads
   • new four-cylinder engine designed by Brauner
   • peak output of 35 hp/26 kW at 1000 rpm
   • 35 hp/26 kW at 1000 rpm
   • wheelbase of 2245 mm
   • weighed 1112 kg

   Accessed 2026-11-12
2. 2
   First Mercedes model series, 1900/1901 Level A Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Mercedes-Benz Public Archive (Classic M@RS)

   • allowed a top speed of almost 90 km/h

   Accessed 2026-11-12