This day in car history: Iconic car designer Wilhelm Maybach is born

On February 9th 1846, the father of the modern automobile was born. Wilhelm Maybach, a pioneering German inventor and engineer who is famous for his work in shaping the early car industry.

While many people know the name Mercedes, fewer know the story of the brilliant designer who made that iconic brand possible. Maybach’s journey was not an easy one. He was orphaned by the age of ten, but his talent for mechanics was discovered early at a vocational school. It was there that he met Gottlieb Daimler, a man who later became his business partner. For over 30 years, Maybach and Daimler worked together to turn the dream of a motorized carriage into a reality.

In 1885 Maybach and Daimler developed a new kind of high-speed, four-stroke internal combustion engine. While a man named Nikolaus Otto is credited with inventing the first functioning four-stroke engine, it was Maybach and Daimler who improved it and made it light enough to power a vehicle.

This invention led to the creation of the Reitwagen in 1885, which is considered the world’s first motorcycle, and to prove that their engine could successfully move a vehicle, Maybach was the first person to ride it.

Maybach’s greatest achievement came in 1901. A racing enthusiast named Emil Jellinek challenged Maybach to build a one of a kind racing car. And here was when Maybach designed the Mercedes 35hp. It was unlike anything seen before, featuring a light frame, a powerful engine, and a honeycomb radiator to keep the engine cool. This car was named after Jellinek’s daughter, Mercedes, and it set the standard for all modern cars that followed.

Throughout the 1890s, Maybach work didn’t stop at cars, he also helped design engines for boats and the famous Zeppelin airships. The first Maybach engines were six-cylinder vertical types constructed in 1909, and powered the World War I Zeppelin, Schutte-Lanz, and Parseval airships or airplanes such as the Rumpler C4 and C5.