Summer 2007 - Day 5

Day 5

Today, we spent the day in Stuttgart. The main attraction in Stuttgart is the Mercedes Benz museum.

Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz separately pursued the development of the automobile. Daimler focused on the development of the internal combustion engine as the source of power and Benz sought to develop the automobile.

Daimler filed a patent in 1885 for his vertical single-cylinder four-stroke engine, known as the Grandfather Clock.

Karl Benz used the four-stroke engine to power the Benz patent motor car. It's maiden journey was in 1886.

Daimler also produced the first motorised truck in 1898.

Daimler founded his company, Daimler Motoren Gessellschaft in 1890 and Benz founded Benz & Cie in 1883. One of DMG's best customers was Emil Jellinek. Jellinek began participating in motor races in 1899 in a car he bought from DMG. He used the pseudonym "Mercedes" - his daughter's name.

"Mercedes" became a product name in 1900 and was used to brand the new 35 hp model which enjoyed a lot of success. The 40 hp Mercedes Simplex followed 15 months later.

Daimler and Benz developed engines for aircraft before WWI. These didn't supply enough power at high altitude so the supercharger was developed. This concept was then used on their automobiles. In 1926, DMG and Benz & Cie merged to form Daimler-Benz AG. The focus was on performance and the supercharged Mercedes-Benz 500 K & 540 K were produced.

After WWII, Daimler-Benz developed the 300 SL sports car. The height of this car did not allow for the use of conventional doors. The Gullwing door was adopted into the design.

Request were made for an open-top version of the 300 SL, so the roadster was produced.

Also on display was the car driven by Princess Dianna. She was the first member of the Royal family to drive a foreign car. In the background is the Popemobile used the first time in 1980 when Pope John Paul II visited Germany. The perspex canopy was replaced with bullet-proof glazing after 1981 assassination attack.

After we left Stuttgart we drove to Tubingen.