In February 1906, the then Kaiserlicher Automobil-Club (KAC) and the Verein Deutscher Motorfahrzeug-Industrieller (VDMI), a forerunner of today's German Association of the Automotive Industry or VDA, organised a major international race in June 1907, which was to encourage German manufacturers other than Benz & Cie. and DMG, which had long been involved in motorsport, to take part by means of their own technical regulations. As an added incentive, Kaiser Wilhelm II endowed a special prize.
The competition, which was subsequently dubbed the Kaiserpreis (Emperor's Prize) race, was intended to promote touring car racing in particular and pursued this goal with a set of regulations tailored to it. The maximum displacement was 8 litres – a very generous figure from today's perspective, but a rather moderate value compared to the displacement of racing cars at the time. The wheelbase was specified as at least 3 metres and the distance from the bulkhead to the centre of the rear axle as at least 2 metres; the minimum weight had to be 1175 kilograms.
The 117-kilometre course through the Taunus Mountains near Homburg v.d.H., the seat of the imperial summer residence, essentially corresponded to the route on which the Gordon Bennett Cup race had been held three years previously. On the day before the actual start of the race, which was scheduled for 14 June 1907, two qualifying heats were held. These had become necessary due to the large field of 92 entries and 42 vehicle brands. These two elimination heats coincided with the last day of the third and final Herkomer competition.
Benz & Cie. and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft each entered three racing touring cars: While Benz equipped the racing car that had already been used at the Targa Florio with a modified engine in order to stay below the maximum displacement limit of 8 litres defined by the regulations, the company from Untertürkheim opted for a new design based on the Mercedes Simplex 60 PS from 1903.
However, neither team was able to make a decisive impression in the elimination heats or in the Kaiserpreis race itself. All three races were dominated by the more modern FIAT cars, which finished in 1st, 5th and 6th place. The Opel team with Carl Jörns and Christian Michel in 3rd and 4th place achieved a respectable success. The best-placed Mercedes driver was Otto Salzer in 9th place, while Camille Jenatzy finished in 14th position.