1913 Mercedes-Knight 16/45HP Touring

The Mercedes-Knight racing car, with its sleeve-valve engine that used slide-valves instead of poppet valves, was only of peripheral importance as far as its main engine use was concerned, which was to power passenger cars. Still, it could score some notable achievements. Probably the most significant one – though not a victory – was the fifth place in the 1913 Indianapolis 500 mile race. Pilette entered his Mercedes-Knight as the smallest-displacement car in the starter field and was the last to qualify for a participation. All the same, he finished the race after 7 hours 19 minutes – without a pit stop – in 5th place. Another remarkable feature of this engine was its fuel consumption: 11.8 l/100 km.

Story by DaimlerChrysler