1907: World First AWD Passenger Car

Press Release

Extensive testing under realistic conditions

At the end of March/beginning of April 1908, the colonial vehicle was subjected to a thorough, 1677-kilometer trial in Germany. The route ran from Berlin-Marienfelde to Stuttgart-Untertürkheim and back. Untertürkheim was reached during the morning of the fourth day, and four days later, the car was back in Marienfelde. The route included off-road sections, too, so as to test the all-wheel drive. "A turn in a deeply ploughed field with a gradient of five to ten percent was negotiated impeccably," a Colonial Office report stated. "Near Wittenberg the vehicles was driven into a sandpit, in which it sank well up to its axles in the sand, but from which it managed to free itself with ease despite gra-dients of 20 and 21 percent." In the Thuringian Forest, "a hill approximately 150 meters high was climbed on stony, twisting, narrow roads with gradients of up to 20 percent without difficulty. Even the steering, which was inherently cumbersome as a result of the four-wheel drive, proved itself." The Colonial Office's test report was positive.

In May 1908 the vehicle was shipped to Swakopmund in Africa on board the "Kedive". The Secretary of State at the German Colonial Office, Bernhard Dernburg (1865 -1937) received it for his personal disposal in German South-West Africa one month later. His task was to coordinate and improve relations between the colonies and the motherland. As a result of his travels the all-wheel-drive vehicle was nick-named the "Dernburg-Wagen" many years later. At the same time, these trips served as a general test of the motor vehicle as a means of transport in the colony, and to this purpose the all-wheel-drive "Dernburg" was accompanied at least some of the time by other, rear-wheel-drive, vehicles from Benz and Daimler, namely a seven-seater, extensively armoured car from Benz and three trucks from Daimler.

The author of a travel report from that time described a journey with the Dernburg as follows: "The 600-kilometer trip from Keetmanshoop via Berseba to Gibeon and then from Maltahöhe, Rehoboth to Windhoek was made in a journey time of four days without accident. That is an enormous time-saving, since for the same journey an accomplished rider takes twelve days on horseback […]." And the official was even able to use a mobile communication aid, too: "When [the vehicle] was carrying Secretary of State Dernburg, it also took a field telephone which was able to be tapped into the telegraph wires anywhere along the way."

In permanent service by the police

Following this trip, the car was made available to the police in German South-West Africa as a means of transport on a permanent basis. A precise log was also kept, showing for instance that the vehicle had covered around 10,000 kilometers by the beginning of 1910.

The car's driver, who also doubled as its mechanic, was sent by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft along with the vehicle - common practice at the time. And since it belonged to the police, without further ado driver Paul Ritter was made a policeman. Following Dernburg's departure, Ritter remained in the country to look after the car, repeatedly returning to Marienfelde so as to acquire the required spare parts, as well as the repair and maintenance skills to go with them.

The details known about the "Dernburg" all point to the engineering ability of Paul Daimler, who tailored the car's design precisely to its intended application. Every single feature was thought through so that the vehicle made no compromises with regard to its chief purpose - driving in trackless terrain.

Despite this, the journeys undertaken with the car did not go as smoothly as those involved would have liked. This was because its high weight, due in large measure to the Colonial Office's special requirements, meant that the pneumatic tires were subjected to a lot of punishment. This meant that, particularly with the amount of off-road driving that had to be done, they only lasted a comparatively short time - 36 tires and 27 inner tubes were used up in the above-mentioned 10,000 kilometers covered by early 1910. Experiments with solid rubber tires proved unsuccessful, since the forces acting on the wheels were then too much, and destroyed them.

The all-wheel drive, by contrast, proved its worth particularly on sandy surfaces, on which the car made better progress than the accompanying rear-wheel-drive trucks. Despite this, after a detailed inspection a police colonel submitted a recommendation to convert the car to pure rear-wheel drive: the numerous components of the all-wheel-drive system made it complicated and time-consuming to maintain and repair. This conversion then apparently did actually take place, but the precise details have not been handed down. There are no records on how the car was used during the First World War. After it, and after the end of German colonialism, all trace of the "Dernburg" was lost - its fate is unknown. Paul Ritter, its driver and mechanic, returned to Marienfelde in 1919 where he once more found employment with Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft.

Technical Data

Engine

Daimler engine
E4 with cylinders cast in pairs, two lateral camshafts
No./arrangement of cylinders
Four-cylinder in-line, two valves per cylinder, lateral up-right valves in T-arrangement
Displacement
6786 cc
Bore x stroke
120 x 150 mm
Rated output
35 hp/26 kW at 800 rpm
Ignition
Magneto-electric contact-breaker ignition
Mixture formation
Daimler piston carburetor, centrifugal regulator
Cooling
Front radiator with ventilator, additional horseshoe-shaped radiator at the bulkhead, radiators connected by two lateral water reservoirs, engine cooling jacket around the cylinders enlarged to 28 liters, total volume of coolant in circulation: 140 liters

Power transmission

Drive system
Permanent all-wheel drive, bevel gear drive
Torque distribution 50 : 50 (front/rear)
Clutch
Aluminum cone coupling
Transmission
Four-speed manual transmission, one reverse
Protective features
All power-transmitting parts protected against airborne sand; engine completely encased, transmission with robust bottom plate

Running gear

Chassis
Straight, pressed steel frame
Front axle
Rigid axle, leaf springs
Rear axle
Rigid axle, leaf springs
Brake system
Water-cooled external-band brakes at the front, operated by foot pedal; external-band brake at the rear, operated by manual lever
Steering
Spindle-type all-wheel steering
Wheels
Solid nickel-steel sheet-metal wheels
Tires
Size 930 x 125

Dimensions and weights

Wheelbase: 4000 mm
Track width front/rear: 1420 mm
Ground clearance: 320 mm
Overall length: Approx. 4900 mm
Overall width: Approx. 2000 mm
Overall height: Approx. 2700
Weight in ready-to-drive condition: 3600 kg

Performance and fuel consumption

Top speed: 40 km/h
Climbing ability: 25 %
Fuel consumption: Approx. 25 l/100 km

Price

New-vehicle price in 1907: 34,750 Marks
Production volume: 1