BENZ (MONARCH)

A story about a very brave woman with great perseverance who helped create a new era of our history.

On 5 August 1888, 39-year-old Bertha Benz endeavored on a trip that would have one of the most significant impacts on the modern world. Bertha, along with her two teenage sons Richard and Eugen, without telling her husband, the founder and inventor Karl Benz, and without permission of the authorities, climbed into their newly developed and experimental Model III automobile and drove 66 miles(106km) from Mannheim to Pforzheim, along old wagon tracks to visit her mother. Thus, becoming the first person to drive an automobile of any significant distance. Before this historic trip, motorized drives were merely short trial runs, returning to the point of origin, made with assistance of mechanics.

Bertha Benz had a special reason and motivation for accomplishing this journey. When realizing that her husband, Karl Benz was losing faith in the development of his automobile after a few failed attempts and not adequately considering marketing his invention. Bertha decided she had to build up his confidence and his conviction to this project. She believed the automobile in which they both had heavily invested would become a financial success once it was shown to be useful to the general public and to give her husband the assurance that his automobile had a future.

She left home around dawn, solving numerous problems along the way. Bertha demonstrated her significant technical capabilities on this journey. With no fuel tank and only a 4.5-litre supply of petrol in the carburetor, she had to find ligroin, the petroleum solvent needed for the car to run. It was only available at apothecary shops, so she stopped in Wiesloch at the city pharmacy to purchase the fuel. At the time, petrol and other fuels could only be bought from chemists, and so this is how the chemist in Wiesloch became the first fuel station in the world.

She even had to clean a blocked fuel line with her hat pin and used her garter as insulation material. A blacksmith had to help mend a chain at one point. When the wooden brakes began to fail, Benz visited a cobbler to install leather, making the world’s first pair of brake lining. An evaporative cooling system was employed to cool the engine, making water supply a big worry along the trip. The trio added water to their supply every time they stopped. The car’s two gears were not enough to surmount uphill inclines and Eugen and Richard often had to push the vehicle up steep roads. They finally reached Pforzheim a little after dusk, notifying her husband of her successful journey by telegram. She drove back to Mannheim several days later.

The novel trip received a great deal of publicity, as she had sought. The drive was a key event in the technical development of the automobile. The pioneering couple introduced several improvements after Bertha’s experiences. She reported everything that had happened along the way and made important suggestions, such as the introduction of an additional gear for climbing hills and brake linings to improve brake-power. The Bertha Benz journey had a lasting effect on the burgeoning automotive industry.

“a new era of human history was just born”.

The Benz appeals for its easy operation, attractive appearance and, last but not least, it’s a great value for the money. The open bearing rod and the fabric roll are protected from corrosion by a special galvanizing treatment. Thanks to a powder-coated and/or anodized aluminum hinged arm, and robust vertical impact securing, this awning is resilient against weather impacts.

Width Sizes: Standard 8’ – 20’ (custom sizes are available, over 20’ requires a splice)
Projections: 6’, 8’, 10’, 12’ & 13’
Operations: Gear Drive or motorized available

Frame Colors: