Prince Henry of Prussia (1862–1929) became the club's patron. Henry was interested in motor cars as well and supposedly invented a windshield wiper and, according to other sources, the car horn. In his honor, the "Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt" (Prince Heinrich Tour) was established in 1908, like the earlier Kaiserpreis a precursor to the German Grand Prix. Henry and his brother William gave patronage to the Kaiserlicher Automobilclub (Imperial Automobile Club). Henry also was an early proponent of introducing submarines and airplanes. He had merchant ships converted into seaplane tenders for operations in the Baltic Sea. Henry respected his brother, but this attitude was not returned in the
Sports car were important to the growing popularity of fast motor cars in Britain. Like the 60 hp Mercedes the Prince Henry Austro-Daimler and Vauxhall were production fast touring cars. The Prince Henry Tours (which were similar to modern car rallies) were among the sporting events of the period, bringing renown to successful entrants. Porsche himself drove the Austro-Daimler to victory in the 1910 Prince Henry Tour. The Prince Henry Tours started the evolution of reasonably large and technically advanced production sports cars. Hispano-Suiza's Alfonso XIII is also considered one of the earliest sports cars, developed between 1911 and 1914 from the