Benz & Cie. does not build many cars like the Blitzen Benz: a Roadster with 21504 cm3 I4, built from 1909 when a car was a rich man's adventure and every maker was a workshop.
How it came about
The Blitzen Benz is a racing car that was built by Benz & Cie in Mannheim, Germany, in 1909. In 1910 an enhanced model broke the world land speed record. It was one of six cars based on the Grand Prix car, but it had an enlarged engine, 21,504 cm3 (1,312.3 in3), capacity 185 mm × 200 mm (7.28 in × 7.87 in) with 200 hp (149.1 kW), inline-four and improved aerodynamics.
The hardware
Under the skin sits 21504 cm3 I4. Kerb weight is 1450 kg. The gearbox is a 4-speed manual gate-type shift. The wheelbase is 2800 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Where it sits in Benz & Cie.'s history is not in doubt: it was built at Mannheim, Germany. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Ford Model T, the Oldsmobile Model D, the Opel 4/8 PS. Its Benz & Cie. stablemates include the Benz 10/18 PS and the Benz 10/20 PS.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the Blitzen Benz — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.