Benz 5-HP Phaeton
In the back of this enormous car, capable of transporting six people, is a single-cylinder engine of no less than three liters capacity.
The crankshaft was not enclosed, rotating in the open, which meant that the car had to be stopped regularly so that it could be lubricated. To start the car, the flywheel had to be given a strong tug.
This Benz is probably the same car that was exhibited at the Amsterdam RAI motor show in 1924, as a ‘classic’. At that time the car was 29 years old and had been shipped to the Netherlands from Semarang on the island of Java, in the former Dutch East Indies. This Phaeton had been the most luxurious car on the island, with its green and white striped canopy and matching curtains to protect the passengers from the tropical sun. The ‘summer roof’ was an option and cost 175 Marks.
For many years the car was owned by the Royal Dutch Automobile Club (KNAC), and subsequently was added to the Louwman Museum collection. Since the 1970s the car has been a regular entrant in the London to Brighton Run.