 In
the early part of the 20th century automobile racing development was
driven by the quest for ever larger engines for a given weight of car.
What you ended up with was a motor, a chassis, seats for the driver and
mechanic and not much else. Motors with capacities of 13.5 litres were
being made to fit in 1,000 kg cars and raced at speeds nearing 100 miles
per hour.
After running a fuel
consumption formula the previous year the rules for the 1908 Grand Prix
season stipulated a minimum weight of 1,150 kg., calculated without
coolant, fuel, spare tires and mudguards, but including lubricant and
finally a maximum piston area of 117 sq. for 4 cylinder cars and
in. which limited the maximum bore to 155 mm. These new regulations
forced designers to be more efficient and saw output exceed 10 h.p. per
litre for the first time.
 According
to Robert Dick in his wonderful book,
Mercedes and Auto Racing in the Belle Époque stated that the new
regulations also partially mitigated the engine misfiring due to
self-ignition. The earlier gigantic pistons were glowing, being unable
to dissipate heat quickly enough through the cylinder walls.
William Maybach had left the firm in 1907
and the responsibility for creating a new car was given over to Paul
Daimler who had earlier returned from the Austrian branch of the firm.
Daimler did not stray far from the tree and created a design that
followed practices that were established by Maybach earlier. The new car
was built much lower to the ground and the hood line was in turn lowered
by the repositioning of the radiator. With these cars Mercedes was able
to triumph at the French Grand Prix over their German and French rivals
with Christian Lautenschlager taking the laurels. At the end of the
season the cars were sold off to rich patrons and continued to compete
in various events. Modifications were made and one model was to attain
180 bhp. Driven by the veteran driver Camille Jenatzy this race car
was clocked at 107.5 mph over a kilometer during the Ostend Week sprint
events.
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