The last date to entry into the 1913 "Vintertäflingarne" was 10 February at 8 P.M. At the office of the Swedish Automobile Association (KAK) the suspense was intense. Telephone calls were received and telegrams delivered en masse with the last applicants. Finally the time ran out and 59 vehicles had been registered in two different classes for the annual Winter Rally from Stockholm to Gothenburg and back. However, on Sunday 23 February at 08:00 A.M., a total of 66 cars (2 did not start) lined up inside Stockholm Stadium where the 1912 Olympic Games had been held the year before. The starting line was impressive with 39 different (!) makes of automobiles - mostly American (25) and German (18) but also French (4), Belgian (2) and Italian (2). The only Swedish make was the Scania-Vabis with 30 HP. Many of the somewhat obscure cars were later absorbed by larger manufacturers. For example, the Lanchester brand was bought by Daimler and the Horch by Audi. The drivers came from several nations but the most prominent driver was Prince Wilhelm of Sweden driving a Benz. Vilhelm Hofman-Bang started as car No. 38 in Class 1. Just as he exited the Stockholm Stadium, his Lanchester skidded on a bit of ice and made a twist on the street. But Vilhelm quickly regained control and was soon on his way to Gothenburg. The race was on! The sources to this story are Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Aftonbladet and Göteborgsposten.
View the price given to Lars Vilhelm for his participation in the rally.
Page updated: 17-Jan-2010
