Manufacturer Benz & Cie Assembly Mannheim, Germany Body style Roadster | Production 1909 Class Racecar | |
 | ||
Layout Front engine, rear-wheel drive Dual-chain drive | ||
In 1909, the Blitzen Benz was a race car built by Benz & Cie in Mannheim, Germany, that broke the world land speed record in 1910. It was one of six cars built to improve its aerodynamics, with a 21,504 cm3 (1,312.3 in3), 200 hp (149.1 kW) inline four engine enlarged from the company's Grand Prix racer.
Of the six Blitzen-Benz ever made, two survive—Mercedes-Benz owns one, while the other belongs to a U.S. collector.
At Brooklands on 9 November 1909, land speed racer Victor Hémery of France set a record with an average speed of 202.7 kilometres per hour (126.0 mph) over a kilometer. On 23 April 1911, Bob Burman recorded an average of 228.1 kilometres per hour (141.7 mph) over a full mile at Daytona Beach, breaking Glenn Curtiss's unofficial absolute speed record, land, sea or air, set in 1907 on his V-8 motorcycle. Burman's record stood until 1919.
After 1914 the car was rebuilt for circuit racing, undergoing a number of revisions before it was broken up in 1923. Several other examples of the 200 hp have survived.