The first thought that came to mind upon seeing this impressive motor was that it was a Blitzen Benz. But no, it’s not that. According to several webpages showing this very image it’s a 1908 Mercedes that was entered in the 1913 Indianapolis 500 and raced there by Ralph Mulford, seen here with his riding mechanic no doubt and in great racing attire we’d say. A quick glance at the Indy 500 data tells us the mighty Mercedes finished 7th and must have had a 4.11-litre capacity, which seems relatively little, especially compared to the 21½ litres of the Blitzen Benz four-cylinder engine.
1908 Mercedes
Interestingly, Mulford made it to the Indianapolis race in a Knox car the year before, which had earned him the dubious distinction of being the all-time slowest finisher of the Indianapolis 500. He came home 10th that year after 8 hours and 53 minutes of racing at an average speed of 56.285mph. The race’s official starter, its president and most of the crowd had gone home by that time, but Mulford still managed to snap up $1,200 in prize money. Supposedly he drove the entire race on a single set of (Braender) tyres, clearly advertised on the car in this picture and possibly the earliest form of on-car sponsoring. The tyres might have behaved flawlessly, but the team had problems with the car’s clutch, changed the shock absorbers and spent some time eating fried chicken and ice cream … Priorities!
Mulford’s Mercedes was also entered in the 1912 500 when Italian-American driver Ralph De Palma dramatically led the race only to have the car crack a piston with two laps to go. Oh, and we looked it up on the Indy 500 data pages and the cars capacity is quoted there to be 8.55 litres … That’s some serious downsizing!
Words Jeroen Booij. Picture Mercedes-Benz.
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