Matchbox 1912 Mercedes Benz Fire Engine

The Benz 10/25 PS was a midsize automobile introduced by Benz & Cie in 1912. The same year stated maximum output was increased which meant a name change to Benz 10/30 PS. The model disappeared for three years following the First World War but returned in 1921. A further power increase in 1926 meant another name change, now to Benz 10/35 PS. Following the "fusion" between the Daimler and Benz companies, production of the Benz 10/35 PS ended in 1927.

The manufacturer applied the widely followed German naming conventions of the time. On the Benz 10/30 PS the “10” defined the car's tax horsepower, used by the authorities to determine the level of annual car tax to be imposed on car owners. The “30” defined the manufacturer's claims regarding car's actual power output as defined in metric horsepower. In Germany tax horsepower, which had been defined by statute since 1906, was based on the dimensions of the cylinders in the engine. Unlike the systems used elsewhere in Europe, the German tax horsepower calculation took account both of the cylinder bore and of the cylinder stroke, and there was therefore a direct linear relationship between engine size and tax horsepower.

Although the car would have been promoted in its time as the 10/25 PS, the 10/30 PS or the 10/35 PS according to its actual power output at the time, in retrospect it is often known simply as the Benz 10 PS in order to avoid having to explain name changes during the model's production period.

The car presented in 1912 was powered by a four-cylinder "in-line" engine of 2,610 cc delivering a maximum of 25 PS (18 kW; 25 hp) at 1,600 rpm. Power passed through a leather cone clutch (“Lederkonuskupplung“) via a four-speed transmission and steel propeller shaft to the rear wheels. Top speed was given as approximately 70 km/h (45 mph).

In the same year the manufacturer announced a more powerful engine, unchanged in size, but now providing 30 PS (22 kW; 30 hp) of power at 1,750 rpm. Unusually at this time the four cylinders were in a single block formed from a single casting, rather than being set in a pair of two twin-cylinder blocks. The mechanically controlled brakes operated on the drive shaft until 1925 when the braking system was reconfigured and the brakes operated on all four wheels.

The bodies normally offered were for a Torpedo bodied “Tourenwagen” or a ”Limousine” (sedan/saloon). In parallel with the standard length chassis the manufacturer also offered a “Sport Runabout”, its wheelbase being reduced in length by 100 mm (3.9 in). The wooden-spoked wheels were attached to rigid axles suspended with simple leaf springs. Towards the end, some of the cars were produced with steel-spoked wheels.