1913 Mercedes Knight 16/45 HP Tourer
- Engine
- Straight-four sleeve-valve engine
The Mercedes-Knight 16/45 HP Tourer (chassis 20884) is powered by a double sleeve-valve straight-four engine, a technology pioneered by American Charles Yale Knight and later adopted by Daimler. Delivered new to Switzerland in 1913 but unsold and returned to the factory, it was subsequently acquired by a Melbourne department store in the early 1920s. Rediscovered in 1954, it was auctioned in 1995 and later joined the Aumann Collection in Germany, where it was retrimmed in 2001. A spare engine is included.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold €184,000 (≈ $202K)
- 1913 →Factory deliverySwiss first owner (unsold stock)partial documentation
Delivered new to Switzerland in 1913 but failed to find a buyer and was returned to the Mercedes factory.
- 1954 → 1995Acquisition unknownAustralian owner, Richmondpartial documentation
Car resurfaced in the Richmond area in 1954 and remained in Australia until it was sold at auction in 1995.
- 1996 → 2000-06-01AuctionEnglish owner post-1995 auctionpartial documentation
Purchased at the 1995 auction and shipped to England the following January; subsequently sold to the Aumann Collection.
- 2000-06-01 →Private saleAumann Collectionfull documentation
Car was imported to Germany after acquisition; interior retrimmed in blue upholstery in May 2001 by Autosattlerei Brüger, Göttingen, at a documented cost of 10,612 Deutsche Mark.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownCharles Myers & Co department store, Melbournepartial documentation
Melbourne department store acquired the car in the early 1920s; the car subsequently appeared in Richmond, Australia in 1954.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- 2001BodyworkAutosattlerei Brüger
Cabin reupholstered in blue fabric at a documented cost of 10,612 Deutsche Mark.
Work carried out in Göttingen on behalf of the Aumann Collection.
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