Replica of the world's first automobile

Edmonton businessman David Morris is the dealer principal of David Morris Fine Cars Ltd., a Mercedes-Benz dealership. This past week he took delivery of one of the most unique ``new'' cars ever shipped under the auspices of the Mercedes-Benz factory delivery system - a replica of the world's first automobile, an 1886 Benz, which M-B has dubbed the Mercedes-Benz Classic. Morris's vehicle is one of 110 commissioned by Mercedes-Benz.

``The original is in the Deutsches Museum in Munich,'' Morris said. ``A handful of these replicas were built by Daimler-Benz apprentices; another one is in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.'' Daimler-Benz AG was the corporate name for the maker of Mercedes-Benz automobiles up to 1998; it is now called Daimler AG.
According to Mercedes-Benz, Benz's original design was the first automobile that was not based on a converted carriage, as previous inventors had done.
Morris, who flew in from his winter residence in California to uncrate his new showpiece (which is now displayed prominently in his dealership's new- vehicle showroom, was bitten by the car bug at an early age. A framed black-and- white photo shows him as a young boy sitting behind the wheel of an English pedal car. Later, he successfully raced Formula Ford open-wheel race cars, and eventually sponsored the late Canadian racing legend Gilles Villeneuve when he was racing Formula Atlantic cars before becoming one of the world's most renowned racers, driving Ferrari Formula 1 cars.
In addition to owning the Mercedes dealership, Morris is a Rolls-Royce enthusiast and currently has one undergoing restoration.
Of the 110 Mercedes-Benz Classics built and made available to Mercedes-Benz dealers, Morris says the majority of them have been sold into Europe and Asia. Morris's three-wheeler is believed to be the only one in private hands in North America.