1909 Benz Type RE 200 PS “Blitzen Benz” It may seem somewhat incongruous that the story of one of Mercedes-Benz’s most significant and iconic racecars, the “Blitzen Benz” should revolve around an incendiary Belgian and two grandstanding American showmen. However, racing truth is oftentimes, stranger than fiction. In the Beginning… On New Year’s Eve 1879, Karl Benz and his wife Bertha watched Karl’s first internal combustion engine—a small, two-stroke unit—sputter and pop away for over an hour on his workbench….
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