TITANS OF THEIR TIME
The Grosser 770 models of the 1930s

Article Graham Robson Images Daimler Archives
 
 
Every successful car-manufacturing company needs a flagship model, and every successful company builds a few when the time is ripe. Already on its way to being known as the most successful car producer of them all, Daimler-Benz AG in the 1930s produced not one, but two generations of the Type 770 Grosser models (translated, “Grosser” means grand or large). Very few survivors remain, and each of these rare examples now seems to have a semi-mystical reputation. It was inevitable that in most cases, these myths and legends involve the second World War.

Such machines have always fascinated me. Who, I’ve asked myself, but a megalomaniac would want to own such an 8,000-pound monster, which usually had to be driven – often slowly and through crowded streets – by a strong-armed chauffeur? Did any of the tycoons, statesmen or dictators ever get behind the steering wheel themselves? Did any of them even know, or care, how difficult and ponderous these models were to drive? And did they even consider maintenance costs?

Money? Well, I guess we ought to talk about money, though DBAG was always reluctant to do so. Because of all the different specs and options that were available – armor plating, anyone? – sales representatives told a 770 Grosser’s potential customer that the price would be “auf Anfrage,” which translates to “available by request” or “price on application.”

The suspicion remained that the price would often be massaged, up or down, often by forces more powerful than the company’s board of directors – and we will never know how many would-be purchasers were turned away completely. But then, if you were the chairman of a multi-national company, the president or head-of-state of a country friendly with Germany, or a plain old-fashioned dictator, you merely employed someone else to make the deal and pay the bills.

No matter. A few loved them, the cars impressed most of the media, and Daimler-Benz was happy to indulge its super-elite clientele at a leisurely rate. For the next decade (and it would have been longer if the WWII had not intervened) cars were delivered in tiny numbers, each one hand-built, each colossally self-important, and each one ready and able to tell us something about the people who bought them.

Although most historians now visualize a Grosser as sweeping along modern motor roads, some of which would undoubtedly have cleared other traffic to make way for them, it is worth recalling that the first Grosser made its first run well before Germany’s Autobahn began to take shape. The first autobahn section did not open until 1932 and a vast construction program did not commence until 1933. Early Grossers, therefore, were probably more suited to their most typical use: cruising slowly and impressively through towns and cities.

W07 Grosser 770

Like the V-16 Cadillac, the original Type W07 Grosser 770 appeared just as the worldwide depression struck hard, yet the company forged ahead with production. Cadillac – and let’s be honest about this – outsold the 770 by a colossal margin. When revealed in 1930, it was the most powerful touring car yet to be designed in Stuttgart, was newly engineered from stem to stern, and was ambitiously state-of-the-art as far as the design and development teams were concerned.

The chassis and its layout were strictly conventional – late vintage, one might say – with a solid, separate box-section chassis frame and semi-elliptical leaf-spring suspension front and rear. Because power-assisted steering had yet to be invented and the rolling chassis alone weighed up to 4,000 pounds, this meant the chauffeur needed to be strong to cope with the steering. On the other hand, the driver was treated to power-assisted brakes by a vacuum servo – something of a relief.

But it was the engine and gearbox that were technically interesting and advanced. The massive engine, all new with nothing except some design points shared with other contemporary Daimler-Benz models, was a huge 7,655cc/467CID straight-8 cylinder unit, complete with overhead-valve gear, a cast iron cylinder block and a light-alloy crankcase. Like the latest SS/SSK sporting models, it was fitted with a vane-type supercharger with optional operation, which could be “clutched in” by flooring the accelerator pedal. Therefore, the company assigned it two ratings – 150 brake horsepower, normally aspirated, or 200 brake horsepower, supercharged – although the latter figure was surely conservatively stated. Some Daimler-Benz authorities thought it was much more.

Designed and produced by Maybach, the transmission was advertised as a 6-speed, but could be more accurately described as a conventional 3-speed with a special 2-speed auxiliary gearbox mounted ahead of it, sandwiched between the engine and the main gearbox.
Body styles, all hand-crafted and beautifully detailed, could be limousines, saloons, or cabriolets, all of them with space for at least four or five passengers behind the front seat where the chauffeur was confined.

Such cars could never be built in significant numbers and because Daimler-Benz was very choosy about who should be allowed to use them, were only released to “top people” – top, that is, according to company standards. It is said that Japan’s Emperor Hirohito had no fewer than seven examples, some of which he kept until the 1960s. And it is, of course, well-known that a number of examples – some with armor plating – were supplied to the ruling party in Nazi Germany. 
     
How fast was an original Grosser, and what sort of fuel economy was achieved? In truth, we do not know, but rumors persist that a top speed approaching 100 mph was possible if the supercharger was operated for several miles in the buildup, though it was quite likely that a 5-mpg thirst accompanied that gait.

With a total production of 117 cars, it is highly unlikely that more than 15 such cars were ever assembled in a single calendar year and, certainly, when the W07 was finally laid to rest, nobody really noticed.

W150 – the new colossus

However, many sat up and took notice when the second-generation 770 appeared in the late 1930s carrying the type number W150, for with the exception of the 8-cylinder engine itself, every part of the new car was freshly developed. Not only that, but the design team had obviously closely examined what was already being produced in the 540K sporting machinery, including the famous Silver Arrow Grand Prix cars of the period.

By any standard, the new model was bigger, heavier, more powerful, faster and technically more advanced than the old. Just a few stats demonstrate what a whopping machine this was – even by contemporary Cadillac standards – for the new car had a wheelbase of 155 inches (front and rear track were 64 and 66 inches, respectively), and weighed between 7,600 and 8,100 pounds, depending on the coachwork fitted.

Once again, it was clear that Daimler-Benz did not give a hoot about profitability or competition with their rivals – only Rolls-Royce and Cadillac counted, really. The company merely set out to produce the best car it could, knowing that Germany’s political masters would take the most of a very limited output. And that was that.

Central to the whole design was the new chassis layout. Not only did the new model have a frame built up from oval tubes – a technique then being applied to several other Daimler-Benz road cars – but also used in the all-conquering W125 Grand Prix car. Every joint was hand welded, of course, for this part of the car – like the entire machine – was intended to be crafted carefully, slowly, and with great attention to detail.

Front and rear suspension were far more advanced than before, independent at the front by coil springs and A-arms, and at the rear by De Dion suspension, allied to radius arms and central-torque tube location. Worm-type steering still lacked any form of assistance, but at least the brakes continued to be servo assisted.

Although essentially the same as before, improved from the original 770 Grosser, the straight-8 engine was reworked in detail and then rated at 155 brake horsepower when normally aspirated, or up to 230 brake horsepower when operated in the supercharged mode. As before, the driver engaged the blower by burying his foot and throttle pedal into the carpet! The transmission, however, was news – this one being a 5-speed gearbox with synchromesh on all gears but first: This had similarities to the transmission fitted to the sporting 580K, the new model that was shelved by the outbreak of war in 1939.

As before, production was slow – probably only two or three cars were completed in a typical month – with most cars being equipped with big, stately, handsome Pullman or limousine styles that could seat up to eight or nine passengers. This was a much more suitable machine for the elite who managed to take delivery, for the ride was more comfortable than before.

Once again, we have no authoritative figures for the actual performance of one of these behemoths, though it seems certain that a typical limousine could exceed 100 mph, which made it one of the fastest road cars of the day. It was also ideal for political figures to use to traverse the new generation of motor roads that were appearing all over Europe.

Although the W150 type was rarer than the original – only 88 were built – most were produced between 1938 and 1940 because the company factory at Sindelfingen was increasingly occupied with military production. The last example was reputedly completed in 1944, built on a chassis that was finished the previous year.

So, where are they now? It’s difficult to say just how many of the 205 770 Grossers of both types survived, for most of them were probably destroyed during or immediately after the WWII. And just how many, if any, still exist in the United States?
 
Clockwise from top right: Impressive, right? This was the head-on view of the super-exclusive 770 Grosser of the early 1930s. What lies beneath: the original 770 Grosser ran on a very sturdy 148-inch-wheelbase chassis, with leaf-spring suspension at front and rear. No expense was spared in the engineering of the 770 Grosser’s eight-cylinder engine. Supercharging was “optional,” and was operated by the driver applying absolute full throttle to clutch it into action. This red and black Pullman Limousine 770 was supplied to Japanese Emperor Hirohito in the 1930s, complete with armour plated roof and doors and multi-glazing of the side, rear and division windows. All in all, the Japanese Emperor purchased seven such machines from Mercedes-Benz. Several different body styles were available for the original 770 chassis, including this impressive Cabriolet.
 
Clockwise from above: Aerodynamic efficiency? Who cared about that? The late-model 770 Grosser was all about style, and demonstrating impressive character, as this front-end study confirms. An alternative body style for the W150-type 770 Grosser was the Cabriolet, which the ruling German political party found very suitable for ceremonial occasions. Most of the 88 W150-type 770 Grossers, built between 1938 and 1943, featured the massive limousine coachwork cloaking this black leviathan. Top speed, if necessary, was well over 100mph.  The second-generation 770 Grosser, factory-coded W150, featured a massive, modern, state-of-the-art tubular chassis frame, complete with independent front, and De Dion rear suspension.

Technological Time Shift–1930 to 1937

The two generations of 770 Grosser models were very different