At the end of 1915, the Imperial and Royal War Ministry demanded more power for the aircraft engines used by the air force. This led Austro Daimler to design this 27-liter, 6-cylinder aircraft engine.

The Ministry was very enthusiastic about this engine, and so 500 units of this type were ordered in 1916. However, ongoing design and manufacturing problems prevented series production, so only about 30 units were manufactured for testing purposes by November 1918. One of these engines was used after the war for the only ship built by Austro-Daimler (the Argonaut).

Due to the uniqueness of this engine, the customer decided not to put it into service.