• Rare Edwardian-era Mercedes • Offered from a prominent private collection • 49 years in single-family ownership • Restored in the mid-1970s • Recently recommissioned by Parkes Restorations We have Emil Jellinek to thank for the existence of the 'Mercedes' marque.

Jellinek, a wealthy Leipzig-born businessman, was an admirer of the cars of Gottlieb Daimler, and commissioned him to build a car that would surpass the 'top-heavy' designs of the late 1890s/early 1900s.

Designed by Daimler's collaborator, Wilhelm Maybach, this 5.9-litre, 35hp model marked the watershed between the era of the 'horseless carriage' and that of the modern motor car.

Advanced features included a pressed-steel chassis, aluminium cylinder block, 'honeycomb' radiator, atomising carburettor, and gate-change gearbox.

Starkly finished in purest white, Maybach's creation debuted at the Nice Speed Week in 1901.

The car was owned by Baron Henri de Rothschild and driven by Wilhelm Werner, but had been entered by Jell...