115 Years Ago: Fritz Erle wins the third Herkomer Competition with Benz 50 hp

Third Herkomer Competition 115 years ago from 3 to 13 June 1907. The eventual overall winner Fritz Erle (start number 19) with Benz 50 hp during the long-distance drive Dresden–Eisenach–Mannheim–Lindau–Munich–Augsburg–Frankfurt am Main. (Photo index number in the Mercedes-Benz Classic Archive: 23681)

Fritz Erle wins the third Herkomer Competition with Benz 50 hp

• Long-distance drive with three classifications boosts enthusiasm for the then still young automobile
• Named after artist Hubert von Herkomer
• Daily practicality and reliability are in the foreground

Reliable, fast and beautiful: Fritz Erle from Mannheim wins the third and final Herkomer Competition 115 years ago, from 3 to 13 June 1907, with Edgar Ladenburg’s Benz 50 hp (7.4-litre four-cylinder engine, 37 kW/50 hp). This series of long-distance drives is initiated by Landsberg artist Professor Hubert von Herkomer: as an enthusiastic motorist, he offers a challenge trophy worth 10,000 marks for a competition for touring cars with four seats, wings, lights, rain cover and luggage compartment. There are three sub-classifications: a touring race with the six stages Dresden–Eisenach–Mannheim–Lindau–Munich–Augsburg–Frankfurt am Main, two speed tests and a beauty contest. Public interest in the Herkomer Competition is strong. As a result, the passion for the motor car, then still a quite recent development, grows across Germany and Europe.