• Mercedes-Benz Benz 10/30 hp 1921

The name Benz 10PS identifies a family of high-end cars produced 1909-1926 by the German automaker Benz & Cie.. Between 1926 and 1927 was the last model produced belonging to that family, but already marketed under the brand name Mercedes-Benz.

The family of cars 10PS of Benz has been the longest running family between those produced by the House of Mannheim, just think that this production is to occupy a period of time that includes a small part of the era Mercedes-Benz.

The first model belongs to the family 10PS was the 10/18 PS (see photo), one of the two cars called to replace the Parsifal with 12PS 2.3-liter engine (the other model was the smallest 8/18 PS was equipped with a 2 liters).

The 10/18 PS was a high end car, but certainly not luxurious. Its price, however, was not within the reach of anyone: 9000 marks applied for a 10/18 torpedo was a basic goal that the vast majority of the population could only dream of something like the price of a current car segment E.

The 10/18 PS was equipped with a 4-cylinder 2410cc (bore and stroke: 80×120 mm). This engine was one of the first engine block produced by the German manufacturer. The distribution provided a scheme to L, that is, side valves all on one side of the engine, the valves moved by a camshaft side. The lighting was a magnet and battery, while the power was entrusted to a carburetor jet. The maximum power was 18hp at 1400 rev/min.

The 10/18 PS was constructed from a pressed steel frame with suspension rigid axle and leaf springs. The service brakes were strains on the transmission, the latter assigned to a drive shaft. The gearbox was a three-speed transmission, with cone clutch.

The 10/18 PS touched 70km/h top speed and was removed from production in 1910.

Already in 1909 the 10/18 PS was flanked by the model 10/20 PS, which later would be replaced. The 10/20 PS was fitted with a new engine, still standing, but the displacement of 2610cc (bore and stroke: 85×115 mm). For the rest of the features are modeled those mechanics already mounted on the 10/18 PS. The power of the new engine was 20hp at 1500 rev/min, allowing the car to reach a top speed of 70km/h. The production of this model ended in 1912.

The 10/20 PS was replaced in 1912 by the 10/25 PS, an evolution of the previous model. Produced for less than a year, until the end of that same 1912, the 10/25 PS was equipped with an engine of 2610cc, but not the same as the 10/20 PS, because it was a drive by the different dimensional characteristics, in where the bore and stroke 80×130 mm measured respectively. The ride more elongated allowed a greater gain in torque, but also in power maximum, the latter credited with 25hp at 1600 rev/min. Among other differences include a new 4-speed gearbox. Unchanged, however, the performance, always around 70km/h, with very slight differences depending on the type of bodywork adopted.

Since the end of 1912 to the end of 1914 the House of Mannheim introduced the 10/30 PS to replace the 10/25 PS. This model differed from the previous few details, the most obvious of which was the adoption of a new carburetor, more handsome, allowing the engine to reach a maximum power of 30hp at 1750 rev/min, pushing the car to a little less than 70km/h, slightly lower performance than previous models due to the increase in weight of the car.

At the end of production of the 10/30 PS there was a long pause that embraced the entire war period and also some of the subsequent years.

He returned to talk about Benz 10PS only since 1921, when it was introduced the 10/30 PS Typ 260, a car that ushered in the three-digit numbering system indicating the displacement, which is then used for decades on the Mercedes-Benz. The engine used was the same as the previous 10/30 PS, but the power was entrusted to a 12 V battery and a generator Bosch. The maximum power of 30hp was always, but this time at 2000 rev/min. Despite this performance were improved and the Typ 260 was up to 75km/h. From 1925 there was a news about the brake system, consisting of the adoption and drum brakes at the front also. The car was produced until the eve of the birth of Daimler-Benz and the new Mercedes-Benz brand.

In 1926, the 10/30 PS Typ 260 was subjected to some mechanical upgrades and revived with the Mercedes-Benz brand was born from very little, and with the designation 10/35 PS Typ 260. This new model, the last of the range 10PS, was equipped with the same engine, but with the compression ratio increased from 4.6 to 4.75:1, with a consequent increase of the maximum power from 30 to 35hp at 2500 rev/min. Among the differences for frames is to report the use of a frame made of sheet steel with section to U. The maximum speed of 10/35 PS was 78km/h. The production of the 10/35 PS lasted until 1927.

The 10/35 Typ 260, the latest model in the family 10PS, left the inheritance patterns of two different bands. The lower-end model, already in the list for a year, was the Mercedes-Benz 8/38 PS with 2-liter engine but even with higher power (38hp), while the higher-end model was the Mercedes-Benz 260 Stuttgart, launched a little ‘later, in 1929.

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