Benz 20/35 PS
Car : Benz 20/35 PS
Year : 1910-1911
Engine : 4 cylinders in line
Bore and stroke :105×140 mm
Cylinder capacity : 4851 cc
Gears : 4 forward
Brake horse power : 35
Maximum speed : 52 mph
Wheelbase : 10 ft 10 ins (3.30 m)
Suspension : front and rear :semi-elliptic leaf- springs
Karl Benz, along with Gottieb Daimler, was the inventor of the internal combustion engine as a practical means of propulsion. The 20/35 PS, however, still used chain drive. Benz’s reputation increased with the arrival of a highly talented engineer, Hans Nieble, although the cars, which were very well built , fast and all powered by 4-cylinder engines (until1914) , remained in essence conservative.
Benz 20/35 PS
Niebel changed over from engines with L cylinder heads to ones with T heads and chain drive was slowly replaced by shaft drive. One of Niebel’s masterpieces was the famous Blitzen Benz (200 bhp at 1,600 revs), which driven by Bob Burman, reached 142 mph in 1911. Its 4-cylinder engine had a capacity of 21500 cc. It was Hans Niebel, who by strengthening the design side of Benz and enabling it to assert itself in the racing field, was responsible for the German company’s return to the ranks of the world’s most prestigious manufacturers, in the second decade of this century. The First World War had a very severe effect on it and its recovery was very slow. In 1924 Benz agreed to merge with Daimler and this led to one of the most famous of car manufacturers, also known by the name Mercedes Benz.