autoevolution
 

Daimler’s First Motorboat Is Today’s Yachts’ Scandalous 135-Year Old Ancestor

Way before the outrageously lavish Tecnomar for Lamborghini 63 motor yacht left everyone swooning, there was another motorboat that made a powerful impression at its time. Even before the inaugural drive of Daimler’s first car, Gottlieb Daimler and the “King of Designers”, Wilhelm Maybach, launched a boat that was powered by a high-speed combustion engine.
Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm MaybachDaimler motorboat on the Neckar riverDaimler shipyard in CannstattDaimler motorboat advertisementDaimler motorboat advertisementDaimler motorboat advertisement"Marie" motorboatArrow460-GranturismoArrow460-GranturismoArrow460-GranturismoArrow460-GranturismoArrow460-GranturismoArrow460-GranturismoArrow460-Granturismo
Daimler broke the norm at the time, by equipping different-sized boats that could accommodate from two to ten people, with a one-cylinder combustion engine. Daimler and Maybach had already been working on this engine for a few years prior to the motorboat debut, and first used it on a two-wheeled riding car (Reitwagen), in 1885. Later on, they would fit it onto the three boats, called Neckar (the biggest one), Rems (the medium-sized one), and Schwaben (the smallest).

Back then, the idea of using this type of engine in vehicles was still out of the ordinary. So much so that Daimler kept the fact that the new boat was powered by a petrol engine, a secret. In the beginning, according to his son, Paul Daimler, the first boat was made to look like it was electric, and the hidden engine would be installed and then removed every day, to keep the illusion going.

The groundbreaking boat premiered in August 1886, on the Neckar river near Cannstatt, in Germany, powered by the innovative engine that became known as the “grandfather clock”, due to its shape. By the next year, Daimler had obtained patents in Europe and the U.S., for its marine engine. He even invented something called “a reversing unit”, for backwards driving and safe docking.

In 1888, series production of the new motorboats began. The hulls were made by boat manufacturers, and Daimler fitted the engine and drive system, at its newly-built shipyard in Bad Cannstatt.

Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach
Photo: Daimler
The Daimler shipyard is where the Marie motorboat was built in 1888, for the German Reich Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. The elegantly decorated boat was powered by a 1.5 hp engine that could reach a top speed of 6.8 mph (11 kph). The beautiful motorboat can be admired to this day, as part of the permanent exhibition of the Mercedes-Benz Museum.

From a scandalous innovation to a crowd-pleaser, Daimler’s motorboat apparently had plenty of success on the market. The public demonstrations were, no doubt, an important factor. If back in 1887, the police felt compelled to investigate what was Maybach doing riding his high-speed motorboat on the river Main, the next demonstrations, including international ones, were widely enjoyed by the public.

Just as celebrities today are the first to experience the latest luxurious launches, Daimler’s boat with a combustion engine was disassembled and delivered via camels in 1892, to the Sultan of Morocco himself – this is how famous the innovative boat was at the time.

After 1926, when Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft merged with Benz & Cie (which also produced boat engines of its own), what would be known as Daimler-Benz AG didn’t make its own motorboats anymore, but continued to provide powerful combustion engines for boats, throughout the 20th century. Herbert Quandt, one of the major Daimler-Benz shareholders, even owned two record-breaking boats that were powered by the six-cylinder engine of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupé (W 198).

"Marie" motorboat
Photo: Daimler
Despite the company’s success with its marine engine, since 1886 until well into the 20th century, Daimler would eventually concentrate its efforts towards the vehicles we know and love.

You can no longer purchase a motorboat powered by a Daimler engine today, but you can still admire a yacht that boasts the brand’s unique character. Developed under the Mercedes-Benz Style label, the 2016 Arrow460–Granturismo was unveiled at the famous Monaco Yacht Show, and embarked on its maiden voyage off the coast of Nice under the name of Mercedes.

With an impressive 706 kW (960 hp) top speed, it was meant to reflect not just the elegance, but also the performance of Mercedes-Benz sports cars. Hard to believe, but all the more impressive, that the luxurious 2016 Arrow460–Granturismo and the 1888 Marie motorboat share the ingenious Daimler DNA.

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
press release
About the author: Otilia Drăgan
Otilia Drăgan profile photo

Otilia believes that if it’s eco, green, or groundbreaking, people should know about it (especially if it's got wheels or wings). Working in online media for over five years, she's gained a deeper perspective on how people everywhere can inspire each other.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories