Techno Classica show will take place at the Messe Essen exhibition centre from 15 to 19 April 2015. Mercedes-Benz Classic’s appearance in hall 1 will focus on their streamlined cars design, but their star of the show will be the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR racing sports car with the starting number 722. This is the car in which Stirling Moss won the “Mille Miglia” in Italy in the best time ever achieved in the legendary 1,000-mile race, 60 years ago.
“In the history of our brand, the outstanding culture of innovation at Mercedes-Benz goes hand in hand with unique successes in motor sport. This is reflected in the main focuses of our appearance at the Techno Classica in hall 1 of the Messe Essen exhibition centre,” says Michael Bock, Head of Mercedes-Benz Classic and Customer Centre. “As one of the world’s leading events dedicated to vintage and classic vehicles, the Techno Classica provides an appropriate setting in which to present the legendary car that won the 1955 Mille Miglia and an exclusive line-up of seven original Mercedes-Benz vehicles which set new standards for aerodynamics in their respective eras.”
The vehicles featured by Mercedes-Benz Classic at this edition of Techno Classica will be:
Technical data – Benz 200 HP record-breaking car “Blitzen Benz”
Year of construction: 1909
Cylinders: 4
Displacement: 21,504 cc
Output: 147 kW (200 hp) at 1600 rpm
Top speed: 228 km/h
Mercedes-Benz W 25 twelve-cylinder record-breaking car, 1936
The W 25 record-breaking car of the 1936 season was a one-off special model designed on the basis of a standard chassis of the W 25 Grand Prix racing car of 1935. For the first time in the history of car manufacturing, a chassis was provided with a fully streamlined body which also included the wheels and the underside of the car. In the wind tunnel at the Zeppelin plant in Friedrichshafen, the experts analysed the body’s air flow characteristics and optimised its aerodynamics. The resultant record-breaking car acquired outstanding prominence as the pioneer of aerodynamics as a systematically and precisely applied science in automotive design. To power the vehicle, the Mercedes-Benz engineers opted for the proven MD 25 DAB engine, which generated an output of 453 kW (616 hp) in the record-breaking car. This was around 60 kW (82 hp) more than the eight-cylinder in-line engine of the Grand Prix racing car. On 26 October, Rudolf Caracciola set three international records with the record-breaking car in the “B” class (5 to 8 litres displacement) over a 1-kilometre run, a 1-mile (1,609.34 m) run and a 5-mile run (8,046.72 m), each with a flying start. He reached a top speed of 372.1 km/h in these runs. The record-breaking series continued on 11 November. Caracciola set two new class records for the 5-mile and the 10-kilometre runs. Topping off the record breaking attempts was a world record over 10 miles (16,093.44 m) with a flying start: in it Caracciola reached an average speed of 333.5 km/h between two runs in both directions.
Technical data – Mercedes-Benz W 25 twelve-cylinder record-breaking car
Period of use: 1936
Cylinders: V12
Displacement: 5,577 cc
Output: 453 kW (616 hp)
Top speed: 372 km/h
Mercedes-Benz 540 K Streamliner (W 29), 1938 – ahead of its time
Technical data – Mercedes-Benz 540 K Streamliner (W 29)
Cylinders: 8/in-line
Displacement: 5,401 cc
Output: 85 kW (115 hp), with supercharger 132 kW (180 hp)
Top speed: 185 km/h
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Mercedes-Benz 540 K Streamliner (W 29) -
Mercedes-Benz 540 K Streamliner (W 29) 1 -
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Mercedes-Benz 2.5-litre racing car W 196 R, 1954
In 1954 Mercedes-Benz returned to Grand Prix with a completely newly developed racing car. The W 196 R was built in accordance with the conditions of the new Grand Prix formula defined by the CSI (Commission Sportive Internationale). These conditions included a displacement limit of 750 cc with supercharger or 2,500 cc without a supercharger. The fuel composition was arbitrary. The Mercedes-Benz engineers developed a 2.5-litre engine which initially produced an output of 188 kW (256 hp) at 8,260 rpm from a displacement of 2,496 cc. In 1955, the output duly rose to 213 kW (290 hp) at 8,500 rpm. The aerodynamically optimised streamlined version was the first to be built for the 1954 season, because the first race in Reims (France) allowed very high speeds. A second variant with open wheels followed in due course. The spaceframe of the W 196 R was light and sturdy; the chassis had a torsion-rod suspension and a new single-joint swing rear axle as well as huge turbo-cooled Duplex drum brakes. To power the vehicle, the engineers chose an eight-cylinder in-line engine with direct injection and desmodromic (positively opened and closed) springless valves, which made high engine speeds above 8,000 rpm possible. In the opening race, the French Grand Prix on 4 July 1954, Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling drove W 196 R streamlined racing cars to a double victory. Fangio finished the season as World Champion. In the improved version of the streamlined car, he also won the last race in which the W 196 R competed – the 1955 Italian Grand Prix. This sealed Fangio’s second world championship title driving the Silver Arrows.
Technical data – Mercedes-Benz 2.5-litre streamlined racing car W 196 R
Period of use: 1954 to 1955
Cylinders: 8/in-line
Displacement: 2,497 cc
Output: 188 kW (256 hp) to 213 kW (290 hp)
Top speed: more than 300 km/h
Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (W 196 S) racing sports car, 1955
Technical data – Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR racing sports car (W 196 S)
Period of use: 1955
Cylinders: 8/in-line
Displacement: 2,982 cc
Output: 228 kW (310 hp)
Top speed: over 300 km/h
Mercedes-Benz C 111-III record-breaking car, 1978
Technical data – Mercedes-Benz C 111-III, 1978
Period of use: 1978
Cylinders: 5/in-line
Displacement: 2,999 cc
Output: 169 kW (230 hp)
Top speed: over 300 km/h
Mercedes-Benz E 500 (W 124), 1994
Mercedes-Benz presented the 500 E model as an eminently august sporty performer at the Paris Motor Show in October 1990. While at first glance barely distinguishable from its sister models, the new top model of the 124 model series boasted performance figures that clearly placed it in a different league. The sports saloon was powered by a 235 kW (320 hp) five-litre V8 four-valve engine based on the proven M 119 E 50 engine of the 500 SL (R 129). With the standard-fitted four-speed automatic transmission, the 500 E accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds. The top speed was limited to 250 km/h. The top model of the W 124 model series was lowered by 23 millimetres, featured discreet wheel arch flaring and came as standard with acceleration skid control (ASR). From June 1993, when the new nomenclature for the Mercedes-Benz passenger cars entered into force and the mid-size model series was allocated the name “E-Class”, the ultra-sporty V8-powered top model bore the designation E 500.
Technical data – Mercedes-Benz E 500 (W 124)
Production period: 1990-1995
Cylinders: V8
Displacement: 4,973 cc
Output: 235 kW (320 hp) at 5600 rpm
Top speed: 250 km/h (electronically limited)
Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG Shooting Brake (X 117), 2015
Technical data – Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG Shooting Brake
Production period: since 2015
Cylinders: 4/in-line
Displacement: 1,991 cc
Output: 265 kW (360 hp) at 6000 rpm
Top speed: 250 km/h (electronically limited)
Photos © Daimler AG
