Benz 5-hp Phaeton

In the back of this enormous car, which is suitable for transporting six people, there is a single cylinder engine with an impressive capacity of three liters.

The crankshaft is not housed in a casing and therefore turns in the open air. During the drive it is necessary to stop regularly to lubricate the crankshaft. This car too is still started by giving the flywheel a hefty pull. This Benz is presumably the same one that was displayed in 1924 at the Amsterdam AutoRAI as a classic. At that time the car was 29 years old. Earlier that year it had been shipped from Semarang on the island of Java in what was then the Dutch East Indies to the Netherlands. On Java this Phaeton was the most luxurious car, among other things fitted with a green and white striped canopy and matching curtains to protect against the tropical sun. This summer top was an optional extra and cost 175 marks. For a long time the car belonged to the Royal Dutch Automobile Club (KNAC) before it was added to the collection of the Louwman Museum. Since the 1970s the car has regularly taken part in the annual London to Brighton Run.