Blitzen-Benz was built with one goal in mind, to break speed records (not race), and it did so many times from 1909 to 1911. v=Ga2HtUHzUuw ) The speed of 228.1km/h (141.73mph) driven by Bob Burman on April 23, 1911 at Daytona Beach remained a record until 1919. Twice the speed of the fastest airplane (12 April 1911, Alfred Leblanc 69.442mph/111.801kph with a Blériot Blériot) and even shattered the record speed of 210km/h set by a locomotive in 1903. This record was not officially broken on an airplane until 1920! It is one of only two of the six originally built models to exist today and is on display at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. While the extensive and nuanced effort required to launch Blitzen-Benz on a chilly beach morning may strain the patience of some viewers, its historical significance and groundbreaking engineering brilliance still places it among the greatest motor vehicle achievements of all time, and dozens of witnesses to the effort say it He felt it was one of the highlights of the many great moments at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 2011. Here's a great collection of vintage and modern footage of Blitzen-Benz and other historic speed record contenders.