At the Wheel of History
Cockpit views of renowned machines from 125 years of Mercedes-Benz motorsport
PART II – Postwar Racecars
Article Graham Robson
Images Daimler Archives
1955 Mercedes-Benz W196R Grand Prix racing car
When Mercedes-Benz re-entered Grand Prix racing in 1954, it was with a totally new single-seater machine. Not only did it have a multi-tube chassis frame and all-independent suspension, there was also a brand new 2.5-liter 8-cylinder engine with desmodromic (actuated opening and closing) valve gear. The original 1954 cars were immediately available with all-enveloping or open-wheel bodywork, but by 1955, a choice of three different wheelbase chassis had been developed. The team dominated the F1 racing scene in 1954 and 1955, with the Argentinian driver Juan Manuel Fangio winning the World Drivers’ Championship in both seasons. In 1955, Fangio was often pursued closely by his young teammate, Stirling Moss.
With its mighty 257-horsepower fuel-injected engine, the W196R was all but unbeatable in its two-year world championship career, winning nine of the 12 races that it contested. If development had continued, it is likely that four-wheel drive would have been considered for 1956.
1955 Mercedes-Benz W196S sports racing car
Although it only competed in 1955, the W196S 300SLR was totally dominant, winning five of the six races it contested, as well as that year’s World Sportscar Championship title.
While the W196S used a chassis closely related to the W196 Grand Prix open wheeler, the 300SLR was a two-seater with an enclosed body and a larger, more powerful 3.0-liter, 310-horsepower version of the F1 car’s engine. The 300SLR’s career began with a sensational overall victory in the Italian Mille Miglia road race: Stirling Moss, paired with journalist and navigator Denis Jenkinson, averaged a blistering 97.96 mph over the 1,000-mile course. That June, the 300SLRs were leading the 24 Hour of Le Mans race, but were withdrawn after Pierre Levegh’s car rear ended an Austin-Healey and became airborne – killing Levegh and 83 spectators and injuring more than 100 others.
A novel lift-up air brake was used at Le Mans; more unrealized innovations were on tap for 1956, including a 300SLR coupe. However, Mercedes-Benz withdrew from international motorsports at the end of the 1955 season.
1978 Mercedes-Benz C107 450SLC rally car
In 1978, Mercedes-Benz prepared a team of four W107 450SLC coupes to contest the South American Rally, the longest rally ever held on the continent. Starting and ending in Buenos Aires, the grueling contest covered 18,000 torturous miles – much of it on unpaved roads and tracks – and passed through 10 countries in 38 days. Conditions ranged from arid deserts in Chile to snowy roads in Patagonia; only 24 scheduled overnight stops made it all possible.
Running mechanically stock automobiles prepared to FIA International Group 1 specifications, the works team included world-famous drivers: Andrew Cowan, winner of the 1977 London-Sydney Marathon in a 280E (see The Star, March-April 2019) and Timo Mäkinen. Mercedes-Benz led the event from start to finish. Although the route was often rough and unwelcoming, the 450SLCs were totally reliable; it was only an accident to Mäkinen’s car that prevented a rare grand slam with all the cars beating all their opponents. At the end, Cowan and his co-driver Colin Malkin won by 21 minutes, ahead of Sobieslaw Zasada’s sister car.
1989 Sauber-Mercedes C9 sports racing car
Sauber, a Swiss racecar constructor and competitor in the World Sportscar Championship, designed the 1985 C8 model around a twin-turbocharged variant of the Mercedes-Benz M117 4,973cc V-8 engine. In 1988, the team was renamed Sauber-Mercedes and the C8 evolved into the even-more advanced C9, built as an aluminum monocoque beneath a wind-cheating coupe body with an engine producing up to 700 horsepower in race trim.
In 1988, the squad won five rounds of the WSC series, finishing second in the championship. For 1989, the latest Mercedes-Benz M119 engine was fitted with advanced four-valves-per-cylinder heads, made 720 horsepower, and proved very effective. Sauber won all but one race during the season. The team claimed outright victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance classic, with one of the cars recording 248 mph on the long Mulsanne Straight. The C9s finished first, second and fifth at Le Mans, with the winning car driven by Jochen Mass, Manuel Reuter and Stanley Dickens.
1990 Mercedes-Benz W201 EVO II DTM racing car
The Mercedes-Benz W201, launched in 1982, was a great commercial success. When equipped with the Cosworth-designed 16-valve engine, it became a superb and fast sports sedan. Mercedes-Benz soon turned the W201 into a formidable touring-car race machine and developed higher-powered “Evolution” versions. Launched in 1990, the 2.5-16 Evolution II had a 235-horsepower, 2,463cc engine and an electronically limited top speed of 155mph; 502 customer road cars were manufactured. In AMG-prepared form, the 2.5-16 Evolution became a leading German Touring Car Championship (DTM) contender, with the team twice winning the championship.
Responding to an invitation from South African authorities to contest a two-race invitational for DTM-prepared cars at Kyalami in November 1990, Mercedes-Benz sent no fewer than five EVO II machines, which proved to be the fastest in a strong field of similar cars. Klaus Ludwig won the first race, with the Evo IIs of Roland Asch and Jörg van Ommen second and third. Asch won the second race, with Klaus Ludwig’s team car third.