It has always been popular to replicate or re-create famous competition cars. This is quite simple for early racers because of their very basic construction: a bare chassis with a large engine, seats for the driver and mechanic, and a fuel tank (and often spare tyres) at the rear. The most famous early Mercedes is the Mercedes-Simplex that the Belgian driver Camille Jenatzy piloted to victory in the 1903 Gordon Bennett race in Ireland. This was the first international race in that country, and it was so located because racing was forbidden on British public roads.

Jenatzy’s car was a 60 HP Mercedes-Simplex, a model introduced the previous year by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft and designed by Wilhelm Maybach. The name was derived from the slogan “comfort by means of simplicity”. The race-winning car has a 9,236-cubic centimetre engine and a wheelbase of 3,540 millimetres.

The example on offer is one enthusiast’s tribute to the Gordon Bennett car and, for that matter, all of the fire-breathing great racers of the early 20th century. It is, in many ways, reminiscent of the Mercedes that took part in the 1905 Gordon Bennett in France. In any case, it is cosmopolitan in nature, bearing a Simplex Type 10 engine that features the beautiful and desirable “ram’s horn” intake manifold. Interestingly, this engine layout originated with Mercedes, was licensed to Simplex, and was later licensed to American LaFrance, the fire apparatus manufacturer in Elmira, New York, U.S.A.

Other parts include Mercedes-like axles and, curiously, hubcaps from an American LaFrance. The fuel tank is also American, bearing the maker’s tag of Janney-Steinmetz, of Philadelphia and New York. What is known for sure is that its engine produces a loud exhaust throat that emanates out of a very large exhaust, and it is capable of garnering the attention of anyone within a half-mile radius. Screaming down the road, it looks the part of an early racer, and it is certain to offer bushels of fun to its new owner.