Germany’s Oldest Street-Legal Car | 1894 Benz Victoria | German Cars

This is the "Benz Viktoria" -- built by German automobile pioneer Karl Benz over 100 years ago! Today, Karl-Heinz Rehkopf - dressed for the occasion - is taking the vintage ride for a spin. It even has a regular license plate. This old-timer is street-legal. "This is the vehicle that passed down its genes to all other cars. The unique thing about this car is that it's the oldest one still allowed on German roads." Needless to say, the vintage "Benz Viktoria" has its quirks... "This isn't a steering wheel but more a steering arm. I'll move it. And there's a curious kind of indicator that shows you in which direction the car will go. And then I have a small lever that I control with my left hand to accelerate." This car has two gears. And when I want to brake I need to get out of gear quickly so that I am in neutral. Then I can use either my foot brake or my hand brake to my left." I have two horns. One that I sqeeze. And a so-called "klaxon" that I control with my foot. Karl-Heinz Rehkopf bought the vintage car in 2009. Until then, it had been in possession of the well-to-do Gütermann family for four generations. In fact, one former owner even managed to get the first ever speeding ticket in this car. For going though town....at an “eye-watering” 29 kilometers an hour. Well, going top speed does feel like the car is really at its limit. The steering arm and everything doesn’t feel very stable. When ever the car struggles, you struggle with it. And when it rains, you both get wet. You obviously want to avoid that. It's rare that Karl-Heinz Rehkopf takes this vintage car out on the road. Usually, it can be admired at atransport museum near Göttingen. Michael Marx, the museums’ mechanic, knows exactly how to fix "Viktoria" if something's not working as it should. "Here, you can see the piston. It's a big one. It's got a 3-liter-engine. You can see it running." Unlike cars today, simply turning the ignition isn't enough to start it up. First, you need pull a few levers. And adjust the engine settings to the weather conditions so it runs smoothly. As you can imagine...depending on the weather, temperature, humidity and air pressure you need to fiddle around pretty long until the engine runs properly." In April 2019, they took "Benz Viktoria" for a technical inspection to see if it was safe to drive on German roads. After in in-depth inspection, the car was given the go ahead. But only under a few conditions, as car mechanic Burghard Niemietz explains: "The car doesn’t have any electrical wiring, so hazard warning lights were not retrofitted -- which usually is required. And the car doesn’t have blinkers. That means the car may only be driven in daytime, in good weather conditions. And the driver must carry a signalling disk." Rehkopf's wife is usually in charge of the signalling disk when ever the two go for a ride. Though they car isn’t really built for long-distance travel anyway.... Its tiny tank quickly runs out of gas. Besides, it doesn't run on ordinary fuel. But rather on Petroleum ether, which these days you can only get in pharmacies. But even with a full tank, you won't get anywhere fast. "I guess this is about embracing slowness. It's not about reaching your destination per se, but about enjoying the ride itself."

Channel: DW Euromaxx

Views: 6,349,254

Rating: 4.9302864 out of 5

Keywords: DW, Deutsche Welle, DW Euromaxx, Euromaxx, Benz Victoria, 1894, Einbeck, PS.Speicher, antique car, oldest car, oldest street-legal automobile, Karl-Heinz-Rehkopf, vintage car collection, car registration, classic cars, old-timer, Lower Saxony, Carl Benz, First ever Speeding Ticket, german cars, vintage cars, german vintage cars, Klaxon, vintage fuel, petroleum ether

Id: bQ4vB55z0RE

Length: 5min 23sec (323 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 23 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/coso9288]

Plate says "One HP"

[u/TitlersFinalSolution]

That is a good example of slow car fast

[u/Ikemafuna]

I find it hilarious and wholesome that owners of old cars like this always seem to have to dress in period costume

[u/bonesbobman]

That C63 in the thumbnail tho

[u/DaltonsWeekly]

Roger Stone driving it

[u/WeatherWrestlingGuy]

Look at that thing shake! A true jalopy. (In the classic sense of the word)

[u/azuldonkey]

Love the staggered rims on this beast.