A car that helped lay the groundwork for the company that we know today as Mercedes-Benz just sold at auction for $12,105,000. That's among the highest prices ever paid for a car built before 1930.Gooding & Company
The Simplex line of cars were built by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft starting in 1902, and the 60 HP version launched in 1903. The cars were known for being big and powerful, making them popular with the wealthy., who was helping to sell Daimler cars to customers in France. He would sell the cars using his daughter’s name, Mercedes, as the brand.
Eventually, Harmsworth retired the car from competition and had it fitted with a body by the French coachbuilder J. Rothschild et Fils. It was at this time the car was fitted with its license plate. Plate A 740 is among the earliest issued by the London City Council, which began issuing license plates in 1903 starting with A 1.