The Knight-principle proved to be a mistake in the Daimler-development history. Thereby two cylinders were pushed into each other and replaced by certain openings and targeted rotation against each other, the engine control by valves. Advantage: Quiet running, disadvantage: the low possible maximum performance.
1923
This car initiated the supercharger era at Mercedes. This development was still started by Paul Daimler, the famous son of the even more famous father, and further carried out by Ferdinand Porsche as head of development exactly in this year. 29 kW (40 HP) had the 2.6-liter engine without and 48 kW (65 HP) it had with 'fan' as the compressor was designated at the time.
1923
A look at the dashboard of the first supercharged car at Daimler.
1924
Compressors according to the principle of the Roots brothers were driven from the crankshaft at Mercedes. Inside two impellers engaged with each other so that they moved, in spite of non-contact, large amounts of air from the suction side to the pressure side. How much that depended from the (usually high) rotational speed and from the length of the impellers. With compressor cars of those years they were double-winged, but also could have three wings.
In the motor here pure air were pumped through the carburetor, whereby this then enriched and reached at high pressure the cylinders.
1926
Here Daimler and Benz were already combined and the 12/55 Pullman was one of the first new releases. Six-cylinder from 3.2-liter displacement and 40 kW (55 HP) let reach the model a top speed of 100 km/h.
1928
'SSK' is called super-sport kurz (short). The car pictured with compressor had 165 kW (225 hp), while in the race car up to 221 kW (300 HP) were realized. Rudolf Caracciola drove it up to 235 km/h. At full acceleration the compressor screeched. Since the wheelbase was shortened, the SSK was able to win also on curvy routes.
1928
With the S models it started already properly. Daimler-Benz swung itself on to the most successful racing company in the thirties. The cars were given a triple type designation. In addition to the tax-HP, which relate to the displacement, there are HP Data without (120) and with (180) activation of the compressor.
1928
A glance at the dashboard of the particularly sporty Mercedes S.
1931
To the letter combination 'SSK' here is added the 'Leicht' (lightweight). You see it at the openings in the frame, the however, in some versions still further reached to the front.
1932
There was a famous head of engine design at Benz, Prosper L'Orange with name. The was regarded as the inventor of the precombustion chamber method, that the laterDaimler-Benz has used in the truck until after the mid-century, and at the car up almost to the end. Here the as oil engine designated OM 59 with 3.8-liter displacement and 40 kW (55 hp) at 2000 rpm.
1932
In the left half of the cylinder head you see the small precombustion chamber, into the protrude from the top the injection nozzle and from left the glow plug screwed in. Here the diesel fuel ignited and passed through small openings on the bottom of the prechamber into the main combustion chamber.
1932
Even if he had lived in exile in the Netherlands since 1918, the last German Emperor Wilhelm II, he did not have to do without luxury. He is driven in a Mercedes 770 with Hohenzollern crest instead of Daimler crest on the radiator.
1934
Of course it was there in all variations, and thus also with four doors, but the most spectacular was the Cabriolet, especially that with the engine offset to the rear. Overall, there was quite a waste of space, but that was almost wanted at this car. Wikipedia calculated the original price of this car at around 100,000 euros, wherein this also likely to have significantly increased tenfold until today.
1934
Now it comes, the story of the race car that was 1 kg too heavy for the prescribed maximum value of 750 kg just before the race. Racing manager Alfred Neubauer has let grind the tradional white paint until then and it came to light, the silver aluminum. The first 'Silberpfeil' (silver arrow) was born.
1934
Silver Arrows are called the racing cars from Mercedes with this car. for the first time. Characteristic the in-line eight-cylinder, here with 3.36 liters of displacement and approx. 230 kW (313 HP).
1935
The car has been designed in an absolute crisis. It was a desperate attempt to save production costs. Mercedes went VW Beetle, though the does not yet exist. Other parallels were the only 19 kW (26 HP), the central tube frame and the more wind favorable front but the rest was completely different, including the water-cooled in-line engine.
1935
Of course big Mercedes sedans were given VIPs and royals around the world. Here the type 770 for the Japanese Emperor Hirohito, steel-clad with corresponding safe glazing.
1936
Here is shown the successor of the 500 K, the rather similar looking 540 K, this time with the roof closed. It had with the same eight-cylinder in-line engine 400 cc more displacement and without compressor using 85 kW (115 hp), with 132 kW (180 HP). To make the comparison to today's cars once, maybe is interesting the small number of only 419 produced cars. 07/13