1927 Mercedes-Benz Typ 8/38 PS

Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach, and was in operation from 1890 through 1926. Gottlieb Daimler was the first man to harness, with any degree of success, a combustion engine into a road vehicle. His first four-wheeled motor-driven horseless carriage was built in 1866, and over the years, demand for Daimler's engine prompted expansion, thus birthing DMG. Initially based in Cannstatt, the company moved in 1903 to Stuttgart-Untertürkheim after the original factory was destroyed by fire, and again to Berlin in 1922. The company produced petrol engines, and following the success of several race cars built on contract by Wilhelm Maybach for Emil Jellinek, it began to produce the Mercedes model of 1902. The name 'Mercedes' was after Jellnek's 10-year-old daughter.

Emil Jellinek of Vienna was a wealthy banker who was impressed with the Daimler-built engines in the Paris-Rouen race of 1894. He acquired a controlling interest in Daimler and for nearly five years, he held exclusive rights to the bulk of Mercedes production and carefully limited the sale of the cars to individuals of known influence. The company's reputation was based on the exclusivity and quality of the Mercedes automobile, along with its elegance and performance.

The Mercedes automobiles were sold worldwide and available with both right and left-hand drive. The vehicles used chain-driven power through the late-1900s (early 1910s) when it transitioned to shaft-driven power. Both a driveshaft and a chain drive are methods of transferring the torque from the engine to the wheels. Even though the chain drive delivered more efficiency, the drive-shaft was enclosed in a tube and required less maintenance. Rolls-Royce had introduced the shaft-drive system in the Silver Ghost model, prompting many other companies to experiment with designs of their own. The system used by Mercedes was called the Cardan drive, named for the Italian mathematician Gerolamo Cardano, and was a forerunner of the universal-joint drive shaft architecture that is still used in modern vehicles. Initially, the Cardan drive was offered on smaller displacement Mercedes models before being incorporated throughout its product line.

The Mercedes-Benz 8/38
In 1926, DMG merged with Benz & Cie., becoming Daimler-Benz and adopting Mercedes-Benz as its automobile trademark. One of the earliest products following the merger was the 8/38. It was developed under the technical direction of Ferdinand Porsche and equipped with a 2.0-liter, side-valve, inline, six-cylinder engine paired with a three-speed manual transmission. The suspension was comprised of semi-elliptic leaf springs and the four-wheel mechanical brakes provided the stopping power. Production lasted from 1926 to 1933 and nearly 17,000 examples were built. In later years, they were known as the Typ Stuttgart 200. The '8' in the 8/38 name was in reference to its taxable horsepower and the '38' referenced the manufacturer's claimed horsepower, 38.

The Model 8/38 was offered as a rolling chassis or with coachwork of 2- or 4-door sedans, cabriolets, and touring cars. Additionally, it could be purchased with sporty coachwork, a landaulet taxi, or as a delivery van.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2022