Mercedes 28/95 PS

About this model

Produced from 1914 to 1924 (with a hiatus during the First World War), it was the mother of all the Mercedes S sports road cars that followed, including the famous SS and SSK...

Before the First World War, only 25 examples were produced, but production resumed after the Great War and it is estimated that the total production was close to 600 units.

Its engine, designed by Paul Daimler himself, was closely based on the DF 80 Kaiserpreis aircraft engine developed in 1912.

Like it, it was an in-line 6-cylinder engine with an overhead camshaft and a cubic capacity of 7,274 cc, developing 90 hp - enormous power for its time - and capable of taking the 28/95 chassis to an exceptional speed of over 130 km/h. With its huge windscreen radiator and three side exhausts, the whole thing was a real eye-catcher, and we even tested a compressor that was never fitted in series production, but was found on a racing car at the 1922 Targa Florio, with a power output of... 140 hp!

The 28/95 even broke new ground in terms of braking, being the first Mercedes to be fitted with four-wheel brakes from 1923. It was given many different body styles by different coachbuilders, and most models were exported to the United States. The victory (in class, as a production car) at the 1921 Targa Florio of a short-wheelbase chassis (3.07 m) contributed greatly to its fame and commercial success, at a time when German marques were not necessarily well regarded or welcome in international races...