Commissioned from Daimler by wealthy Leipzig-born merchant, Emil Jellinek, the Mercedes took its name from Jellinek's eldest daughter.

An advanced design by Wilhelm Maybach, that first Mercedes of 1901 marked the watershed between the era of the 'horseless carriage' and that of the modern motor car.

Indeed, so successful was it that Daimler adopted the Mercedes name for its passenger cars in 1902.

An entire range of cars of varying capacities and power outputs followed, all based on that revolutionary original.

Shaft drive had been introduced on the 2.6-litre 15/20hp model of 1905 and this advanced feature would soon be adopted across the Mercedes range.

The car offered here is an example of the rare 10/25hp, introduced in 1912, which was superseded the following year by the 10/30hp using a more powerful version of the same 2.6-litre four-cylinder engine.

This particular 10/25hp was delivered new in the UK to Milnes Daimler and originally bodied as an open tourer by the long-esta...