Numbers first, because with the Mercedes 35 hp they are the story: 5918 cc Inline 4, 35 PS @ 950 rpm. Mercedes-Benz built from 1901, when a car was a rich man's adventure and every maker was a workshop. The shape is credited to Wilhelm Maybach / Paul Daimler.
Where it came from
The Mercedes 35 hp (German: Mercedes 35 PS) was a radical early car model designed in 1901 by Wilhelm Maybach and Paul Daimler, for Emil Jellinek. Produced in Stuttgart, Germany, by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG), it began the Mercedes line of cars (since 1926 re-branded Mercedes-Benz). Its name is derived from the power of the engine, 35 Pferdestärken (26 kW, approximately 35 horsepower).
A significant advancement over the previous generation of automobiles, which were modified stagecoaches, the Mercedes 35 hp is regarded as the first modern car. It was equipped with a powerful petrol engine, it was both wider and larger with a tailored steel chassis, and its centre of mass was near the ground. Originally designed as a racing car, the Mercedes 35 hp was further developed for normal road use.
Under the skin
The engine is 5918 cc Inline 4; the output is 35 PS @ 950 rpm. On the scales it comes to 1200 kg. That is roughly 29 horsepower per tonne: leisurely, which for a car of its age and purpose is the point. Drive goes through a 4-speed manual transmission + 1 reverse. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 2345 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
In the Mercedes-Benz line-up the Mercedes 35 hp has a clear place: it replaced the Daimler Phoenix; it handed the line to the Mercedes Simplex. Nearby in the Mercedes-Benz catalogue sit the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and the Mercedes-Benz C124.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Mercedes 35 hp has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.