In 1882, Daimler purchased a villa in Taubenheimstrasse in the Cannstatt district of Stuttgart. The garden contained a greenhouse, where Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach planned to realise their dream of individual mobility.
Daimler and Maybach's goal was to build a transportable engine capable of universal motorisation on the ground, on water and in the air. Their workshop comprising workbench and forge became a refuge for the two engineers. They worked day and night in complete secrecy. Even their families and domestic servants were in the dark about the greenhouse activities. At one stage, a suspicious gardener informed the police after suspecting that counterfeit coins were being produced in the workshop. When the police arrived in the middle of the night, they found nothing more than tools and engine parts. After this, Daimler and Maybach were left to continue their work without interruption.