The World’s Oldest Automobile to Run in the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix

21. June, 2011

PRESS RELEASE

Benz Patent-Motorwagen Nummer 1 is the official name of the world’s first vehicle with a combustion engine. August 6-7 2011 it is on the grid at the annual race for historic racing and sports cars in the centre of Copenhagen, the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix.

Bent Egede, CEO of the race explains:
- Probably, I would be a bit too optimistic if I predicted it is likely too win. On the other hand, it being a Benz you never know. What I can promise however, is a few laps in all tranquility and to the applause of marshals, drivers and the full audience. After all, she is an old lady with a tiny, single-cylinder four-stroke 954 cc engine only capable of 9 hp at 400 rpm.

Bent Egede stresses that the car in Copenhagen is ’only’ a 100% exact replica of the original car which is permanently under roof at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

With the ‘Patent-Motorwagen’ Mercedes-Benz celebrates the125 years anniversary of the automobile in Copenhagen. Therefore, Mercedes-Benz also brings two more recent and potent members of the ‘Star’ family to town.

- The cipher and letter combination 300 SEL, 6.8 AMG is almost as close as you get to the Holy Grail in the world of Mercedes-Benz and AMG, says Lars van heet Erve, director of communications with Mercedes-Benz Denmark. And we are very proud that we have managed to get the legendary 4-doors 300 SEL, 6.8 AMG touring race car from 1971 together with a very special version of the modern S 63 AMG from 2010 to Copenhagen for the celebrations. This coming weekend in August is actually also 40 years ago since the 300 SEL, 6.8 AMG got a surprising second in its very first race.

- In no way, the car was a favourite for a win not even for a top ten result in the Belgian 24 hours’ race on Spa in July 1971. But the car which was based on an ordinary, heavy Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 had been modified at the then relatively unknown tuning company AMG in southern Germany. Among other things the engine capacity was enlarged from 6.3 to 6.8 liters, lighter parts and a highly effective racing exhaust system which not only gave the car a terrific sound but also a very good performance.

The new racer – the AMG Mercedes-Benz ’Red Pig’ – got a fine but short lived career in the European Touring Car Championship. Due to new regulations in 1972 from the international motorsport federation, FIA, the maximum engine capacity could not exceed 5 liters.

The car coming to Copenhagen is just like the ’Patent-Motorwagen’ a unique replica. The original car was sold to the French company Matra, which used it for tests of jet fighter landing gear.

The other AMG, Mercedes-Benz brings to Copenhagen, is a special show version of the modern S 63 AMG, which in spite of having 570 hp, a monumental torque of 900 nm and accelerates from 0-100 km/h in just 4.4 secs. has an impressive fuel efficiency of 9.5 km/l.

Both the ’Patent-Motorwagen’ and the two AMG red racers will lead the parade of racing cars which at noon Friday, June 5^th will drive from the track in the green park of Copenhagen – the Fælledpark – to the City Hall for the official welcoming by the Lord Mayor. The not so agile ’Patent-Motorwagen’ will lead the pack from a trailer, however.

 

Further Information:
Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix: info@chgp.dk
Lars van heet Erve, Mercedes-Benz Danmark A/S, mobile +45 6023 9021
Lars Scheving, CHGP, ls@chgp.dk – mobile +45 6023 5970

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