Commission no.

14493 At the end of the First World War both Daimler and Benz went back to producing cars.

Trading conditions in the early 1920s though, were extremely difficult: the War had left Germany's economy in ruins and there was rampant inflation.

Of the 86 German car factories operating in 1924, only 19 were in existence three years later.

If the two great rivals were to survive, it would have to be in partnership.

On 1st July 1926 Daimler and Benz completed their merger, the two companies having paved the way with a technical co-operation agreement in 1924.

By this time, Paul Daimler, founder Gottlieb's son and the company's Chief Engineer, had moved to Horch, his place being taken by Professor Ferdinand Porsche.

In 1926 Paul Daimler designed a state-of-the-art twin-cam straight eight model for Horch (a proposal rejected by the Daimler management) which quickly captured a major portion of the German market for large luxury cars, much to the chagrin of his former employe...