1911 Mercedes Model 50 Toy Tonneau

The Benz 50 HP was an incredibly expensive car in its day, costing nearly $8,500 at a time when a new Ford Model T could be purchased for under $700. This example has a 6.75-liter, 4-cylinder engine with a toy tonneau-style body and was originally ordered by Charles M. Hayes, a Chicago railroad man who went down with the Titanic before the car was finished. Its subsequent owners included Don Ricardo, the famous bandleader for the NBC Radio Orchestra in the 1930s.

This 50 hp Benz Victoria Touring was delivered from Mannheim as a chassis only and was equipped with a touring body by A.T. Demarest & Co. It is the only known example of its kind with a 50 hp engine. The Benz catalog for the U.S. in 1911 included 18 hp, 30 hp, 45 hp and 60 hp models but none with this 4-cylinder 6.5-liter 50 hp engine.

It was custom ordered by Charles Melville Hays who was president of the Grand Trunk Railroad in Canada, the second Canadian transcontinental railway. Hays perished aboard the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912, on his return from London. Hays was survived by his wife and four daughters who gave the Benz to the family chauffeur, Elijah Gray of Detroit, MI. After having driven the car until 1925, Gray put the Benz in storage until his death in 1968. The car passed through a number of owners until purchased in deteriorated condition by William Winslow of Highland Park, IL in 1974.

Winslow and his son spent twelve years on research and restoration. It was then in the possession of Don Ricardo, leader of the NBC Orchestra, until his passing in 2001. It was then auctioned in October 2002.