In July 1907, Prince Heinrich of Prussia, the motoring-enthusiastic brother of the German Emperor Wilhelm II, donated a 13.5-kilogram model of a touring car made of pure silver as a challenge trophy for a major international touring race, which was to replace the Herkomer competitions and be held from 1908. This marked the start of the Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrten, whose declared aim – similar to the Herkomer competitions – was to perfect the touring car and promote automotive tourism. As with the Herkomer races, there were also stages that had a clear racing character. The regulations restricted participation to four-seater, four- or six-cylinder cars that were permitted to drive on public roads and had to have at least 2000 kilometres on the odometer on the day of scrutineering.
Almost exactly one year to the day after the Kaiserpreis race and the last Herkomer competition, the first Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt started: It was held from 9 to 17 June 1908 and covered a distance of 2201 kilometres. It ran from Berlin via Szczecin, Kiel, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne and Trier to Frankfurt. There were 129 participants at the start. Benz had prepared a total of nine cars – five with a nominal output of 50 hp and two each with 75 and 25 hp – while DMG fielded six specially designed racing touring cars. The chassis was essentially the same as that of the Grand Prix racing car with which Christian Lautenschlager was to clinch a spectacular victory in Dieppe three weeks after the Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt, and the engine was a newly developed four-cylinder with a displacement of 9.1 litres and a nominal output of 90 hp.
The winner was Fritz Erle in one of the Benz special touring cars with 50 hp and 7.5 litre capacity, while second place in the overall standings went to Willy Pöge in a Mercedes.
Overall winner: Erle in a 50 hp Benz.