“Mille Miglia” stands for the fascinating history of motor racing legends. Again and again, the famous racing sports cars from Mercedes-Benz and their drivers have reached new heights in this legendary Italian thousand-mile race. This is now being marked by the “Mercedes-Benz Champions at Mille Miglia” exhibition at the Museo Mille Miglia in Brescia. This event is the first highlight of the strategic cooperation between Daimler and the Museum in Italy, which was concluded in February 2012. “Mercedes-Benz Champions at the Mille Miglia” will open its doors on 15 February, and can be seen until this year’s 2012 Mille Miglia (16 to 20 May 2012).
The stars of the exhibition are automative gems from the Mercedes-Benz Classic collection which have contributed to the history of the Mille Miglia. These racing sports cars and other exhibits bring this history to life, major highlights being the overall victories by Rudolf Caracciola in 1931 and Stirling Moss in 1955. The history of this event carried out from 1927 to 1957 also includes several class victories and excellent placings for Mercedes-Benz. These successes give the Stuttgart-based brand an exceptional status in the history of the Mille Miglia. For one thing, no other non-Italian car brand has ever managed to win this road race from Brescia to Rome and back.
From the SSK to the 300 SLR
The Mille Miglia was three years old in 1930, when Rudolf Caracciola and his co-driver Christian Werner left the starting line for the “Thousand Miles” in their Mercedes-Benz SSK. On this first attempt Caracciola achieved the class victory for cars with a cubic capacity of up to 8 litres, reaching sixth place overall with an average speed of 92.8 km/h. In the following year he returned to Brescia to drive for Mercedes-Benz, this time at the wheel of a Model SSKL, a weight-reduced version of the SSK designed for road and mountain races. Caracciola duly won an overall victory in the racing sports car, whose supercharged six-cylinder engine developed 300 hp (221 kW) from a displacement of 7065 cubic centimetres. As a German national accompanied by co-pilot Wilhelm Sebastian, Caracciola was the first non-Italian to win the Mille Miglia.
Building on its success during the era of large, supercharged Mille Miglia cars, Mercedes-Benz entered a new generation of racing sports cars in the race during the 1950s: in 1952 Karl Kling took second place in the new Model 300 SL from the W 194 series, with Rudolf Caracciola in fourth place. Kling was the fastest driver to cover the route from Brescia to Rome, and received the “Sportman of the Year” award in that year. Three years later, in 1955, Mercedes-Benz almost completely dominated the Mille Miglia. Stirling Moss and his co-driver Denis Jenkinson won an overall victory in the 300 SLR (W 196 S) racing sports car, whose 2982 cc eight-cylinder engine developed up to 310 hp (228 kW). The 157.65 km/h average speed achieved by Moss is the best ever achieved in the history of this road pace. Juan Manuel Fangio, who embarked on the “Thousand Miles” with no co-driver, was the second to cross the finishing line.
In 1955 John Cooper Fitch with co-pilot Kurt Gesell also won the class victory for GT cars above 1300 cc cubic capacity in a standard 300 SL sports car (W 198 I), and in the diesel class victory went to Helmut Retter and Wolfgang Larcher in a Mercedes-Benz 180 D (W 120). That season also saw the debut of the new Mercedes-Benz racing car transporter, which was created on the basis of the 300 SL for the purpose of rapidly transporting a racing car from the factory to the racetrack when required.
The “Mercedes-Benz Champions at the Mille Miglia” exhibition provides a particularly wide view of the motor sports world in the mid-20th Century. It repeatedly becomes clear that the champions are not just the drivers who are the first to cross the finishing line. Instead the winners are a large team using the innovative strength and performance of the entire company, a company whose origins go back to the independent invention of the automobile by Carl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler in 1886.
Tradition of the Mille Miglia viewed in a historical setting
The Museo Mille Miglia (Museo Mille Miglia) is where the fascination of this legendary road race can be experienced throughout the year. For this reason Daimler has embarked on a strategic cooperation with the Museum in Brescia. One major aim is to emphasise and strengthen the aspects held in common by the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart and the Museo Mille Miglia.
Opened in 2004, the Museo Mille Miglia is located in the historic Sant’Eufemia della Fonte monastery complex outside the gates of Brescia. The former Benedictine monastery was founded by Landolfo, Bishop of Brescia, in the year 1008. The monastery having been moved inside the city in the 15th Century, the historic buildings were first used as warehouses, then as a hospital. In 1997 the decision was taken to create the Museo Mille Miglia in this highly evocative location just under 20 kilometres from the shores of Lake Garda.
The focus of the permanent exhibition, which is divided into nine periods, is on the road race itself. However, the Museum also reflects the national, social and cultural history of Italy using the example of the regions traversed by the race in the course of time. Here the emphasis is on the period between 1927 and 1957, to which seven sections are devoted. There is also one section each covering the Mille Miglia from 1958 to 1961, and the present event for classic cars which was first held in 1977.
Special exhibitions such as “Mercedes-Benz Champions at the Mille Miglia” are devoted to individual, celebratory perspectives during which a dialogue also develops with the permanent exhibition. The exhibition opening in February provides a complete, panoramic view of the exciting motors sports history written by the racing sports cars of Mercedes-Benz at the Mille Miglia. Accordingly a visit to “Mercedes-Benz Champions at the Mille Miglia” will be one of the highlights of the programme for both the participants and spectators at this year’s race from Brescia to Rome and back.
In 1955, the Mercedes-Benz built two coupé versions of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR racing sports car. They were specifically designed for long-distance races, to provide somewhat more comfortable conditions for the driver than in the open version. Externally, the car looked similar to the 300 SLR, but with purebred Formula 1 technology under the bonnet.
Unfortunately these super cars of their time did not find their way into any customers’ hands, but one fortunate individual was able to enjoy the attributes of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR: its designer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut. On the cancellation of the sixth Carrera Panamericana race in 1955, in which the coupé was to be used for the first time, and since Daimler-Benz AG withdrew from racing at the end of that season, Uhlenhaut was allowed to drive one when travelling on business – and he made extensive use of this privilege. Accordingly, the car has become known as the “Uhlenhaut Coupé”.
Now, three German friends Armin Ciesielski, Peter Brakel and Walter Willer have decided to recreate one of the greatest car ever scrapped by Mercedes – and they decided to build it out of scrap.
In order to pay their respects to the 300 SLR, the group from Giganten aus Stahl, Giants of Steel, meticulously chose over ten-thousand pieces of metal for the sculpture.
“The Uhlenhaut is a really special Mercedes and we wanted to make a replica.” said Armin
“It took me and my friends seven months of hard work to perfect and we used more than 10,000 pieces of metal.
“The car was a very difficult model to make because of all the intricate details and we made the engine look identical to the original. It weighs nearly 1,000kg.”
It is believed that if either of the models were sold today, they would pull in bids in the tens of millions and easily become the most expensive car in history. As for the scrap metal Mercedes-Benz 300 SL sculpture, Armin is selling it for a mere £60,000.
The Allure of the Automobile Exhibit at the Portland Art Museum is showcasing 16 of the world’s most luxurious, rare, and brilliantly conceived automobiles designed between 1930 and the mid-1960s. From the avant garde 1937 Hispano-Suiza owned by French apéritif baron André Dubonnet to the ultra-cool convertible 1957 Jaguar XK-SS Roadster once owned by Hollywood legend Steve McQueen, to one of our personal favorites, the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. The exhibition traces the evolution of the motorcar, showcasing developments in automotive design and engineering. The exhibit will run from June 11 through September 11 of 2011.
The Portland Art Museum Allure of the Automobile exhibit is has on display one of the three 300 SLR sports racing cars ever built. Chosen to represent and examine the golden age of automotive design and the world’s finest cars, the 300 SLR is one of 15 other significantly recognized automobiles including a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster. The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR is acknowledged as one of the most beautiful and well-known sports racing cars. Stirling Moss demonstrated the astonishing abilities of the 300 SLR, after winning the 1955 Mille Miglia in Italy. The eight-cylinder Grand Prix engine, combined with a body construction of sheet magnesium, formed the lightweight, high-speed race car.
The arrival of the 300 SLR is courtesy of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. The classic car collection consists of around 856 vehicles and archived material that collectively preserve 125 years of Mercedes-Benz history and automotive design. The Mercedes-Benz Classic Museum displays 160 of the vehicles in the collection, storing the remaining vehicles in various buildings across Stuttgart. Since 2006, the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Irvine, California closely partners with
Germany’s Classic Center and Museum to provide US owners, enthusiasts, and collectors access to retail sales, restoration, appraisal and vehicle-search assistance on models at least twenty years old.
In addition to The Allure of the Automobile, local Mercedes-Benz car clubs and enthusiasts will show off their own vehicles on Park Avenue for a free display Saturday July 23, 2011 from 10:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M.
While being responsible for the production of historical vehicles like the 300 SLR, Mercedes-Benz continues its legacy for over a century. This year marks the brand’s 125 year anniversary for its 1886 patent of the three-wheel, Benz Patent-Motorwagen and Mercedes-Benz ongoing commitment to future innovation and fascinating design.
Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster
The Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster is recognized for its presence, panache, and power on the road. The twenty-six 540 K Special Roadsters, among the total of 419 540 K’s produced from 1936-1939, were designed to be the most dominant on the road and built to the highest standards at Mercedes-Benz in-house coachworks Mercedes-Benz Karosserie in Sindelfingen.
Advanced for its era, the 540 K’s front suspension consists of independent, unequal-length wishbones and coil springs; the rear end features an independent, coil-sprung swing axle. The transmission includes a semi-automatic four-speed (functioning automatically on the top two gears). The 5.4 liter engine producing 180 hp includes a crankshaft driven Roots-type supercharger adding 65 hp when the throttle is fully depressed. The lighter Special Roadster was built to reach a top speed 105 mph despite a considerable 5,500 lb. curb weight and seventeen-foot length. The 540 K was engineered by Gustav Rohr, who also worked on Mercedes-Benz’s Grand Prix racecars.
Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR
The Mercedes-Benz 300SLR resembles the iconic 300SL in terms of its looks, but underneath its racing sports car bodywork, it boasts state of the art FormulaOne engineering known from the legendary W 196 R Grand Prix race car from the 1950s.
Developed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut, Chief Engineer and Technical Director of the Daimler-
Benz Motorsport Department, the 300 SLR racing sports car features a three liter, eight cylinder engine canted at a 53 degree angle to make a particularly low engine hood possible. The 300SLR lightweight space frame, similar in concept to that of the 300SL, carried an aerodynamically optimized bodywork made of a light magnesium alloy.
While the configuration of the 300 SLR’s racing sports car engine – two engine blocks, each with four cylinders, a shared crankcase and centrally arranged output shaft – was reminiscent of the Grand Prix race car’s engine, the new engine had been cast out of aluminum alloy for the first time. The engine also featured desmodromic valve actuation and fuel injection, which was still very much a novelty at the time.
The front suspension of the racing sports car consisted of double wishbones connected to horizontally mounted torsion bar springs and telescopic shock absorbers. The negative-camber rear wheels were mounted to a single-joint swing axle. Inboard drum brakes were used to decelerate. The racing sports car had a top speed of well over 300km/h, engine output up to 310 hp and a weight of roughly 830kilograms.
A Mercedes-Benz 1937 540 K Special Roadster and a 1955 300 SLR are among 18 of the world’s rarest and most brilliantly conceived cars from the 1930s to the mid-1960s on display at “The Allure of the Automobile” exhibition at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta from March 21-June 20, 2010.
Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster
The Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster is recognized for its presence, panache, and power on the road. The twenty-six 540 K Special Roadsters, among the total of 419 540 K’s produced from 1936-1939, were designed to be the most dominant on the road and built to the highest standards at Mercedes-Benz in-house coachworks Mercedes-Benz Karosserie in Sindelfingen.
Advanced for its era, the 540 K’s front suspension consists of independent, unequal-length wishbones and coil springs; the rear end features an independent, coil-sprung swing axle. The transmission includes a semi-automatic four-speed (functioning automatically on the top two gears). The 5.4 liter engine producing 180 hp includes a crankshaft driven Roots-type supercharger adding 65 hp when the throttle is fully depressed. The lighter Special Roadster was built to reach a top speed 105 mph despite a considerable 5,500 lb. curb weight and seventeen-foot length. The 540 K was engineered by Gustav Rohr, who also worked on Mercedes-Benz’s Grand Prix racecars.
Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR
The Mercedes-Benz 300SLR resembles the iconic 300SL in terms of its looks, but underneath its racing sports car bodywork, it boasts state of the art FormulaOne engineering known from the legendary W 196 R Grand Prix race car from the 1950s.
Developed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut, Chief Engineer and Technical Director of the Daimler-
Benz Motorsport Department, the 300 SLR racing sports car features a three liter, eight cylinder engine canted at a 53 degree angle to make a particularly low engine hood possible. The 300SLR lightweight space frame, similar in concept to that of the 300SL, carried an aerodynamically optimized bodywork made of a light magnesium alloy.
While the configuration of the 300 SLR’s racing sports car engine – two engine blocks, each with four cylinders, a shared crankcase and centrally arranged output shaft – was reminiscent of the Grand Prix race car’s engine, the new engine had been cast out of aluminum alloy for the first time. The engine also featured desmodromic valve actuation and fuel injection, which was still very much a novelty at the time.
The front suspension of the racing sports car consisted of double wishbones connected to horizontally mounted torsion bar springs and telescopic shock absorbers. The negative-camber rear wheels were mounted to a single-joint swing axle. Inboard drum brakes were used to decelerate. The racing sports car had a top speed of well over 300km/h, engine output up to 310 hp and a weight of roughly 830kilograms.
“The Allure of the Automobile” exhibition is a result of the creative efforts of Ron Labaco, curator of decorative arts and design at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and Ken Gross, guest curator of the exhibition, as well as the former director of the Peterson Automotive Museum in California and judge at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance for the past twenty years. The exhibition traces the evolution of the motorcar, examining the contrasts between European and American design, and significant changes in automotive styling and engineering before and after World War II. The featured automobiles including Bugatti and Duesenberg have won awards at prestigious events such as the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, broken records on racetracks, and some were previously owned by such noted car enthusiasts as Hollywood legends Clark Gable and Steve McQueen. For more information about the exhibition, visit www.high.org/autos.
The last examples of the Mercedes-Benz SLR Stirling Moss are currently being built, bringing the active era of the SLR super sports car from Mercedes-Benz and McLaren to an end. In 2004, with the swing-wing Coupé, Mercedes-Benz and McLaren jointly set out to continue the story of the legendary SLR racing sports cars of the 1950s. Five exciting variants in the SLR family have been produced – two coupés, two roadster versions and finally the uncompromisingly purist SLR Stirling Moss. This breathtaking, high-speed racer is a limited edition of 75 examples, and is the final chapter in the modern SLR story. Overall 2000 SLR models have been produced – substantially more than any other sports car in this elite category. An SLR also represents a membership ticket to the SLR. CLUB. The spirit of the SLR will live on in this exclusive community of gentleman-drivers even after production ceases.
Three letters are all it takes to make car fans go into raptures: SLR. On paper, the legendary name simply stands for “sporty”, “light” and “raceworthy”. But, for connoisseurs, this magical combination of letters designates a dream car of special standing, promising unequalled driving enjoyment – a unique symbiosis of outstanding dynamics, superior performance and exceptional comfort.
In January 2009 Mercedes-Benz presented the most spectacular and uncompromising version of the reinterpreted 300 SLR as the last model in the SLR family – the SLR Stirling Moss. With neither a roof nor a windscreen to separate the driver and front passenger from nature, allowing them to enjoy sheer high-speed excitement with all the attributes of a speedster. Further attributes of the new Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss include highly sophisticated technology and breathtaking design that provides a new take on the SLR legend. A V8 supercharged engine developing 478 kW (650 hp) accelerates the SLR Stirling Moss from zero to 100 km/h in less than 3.5 seconds, and is good for a top speed of 350 km/h – performance that no other standard-production car can match. This extreme concept makes the new high-performance sports car a worthy and legitimate bearer of the name of British motor-racing legend Stirling Moss, who piloted the legendary Mercedes-Benz SLR racing cars to a succession of victories in the 1950s.The SLR Stirling Moss accompanied by the 300 SLR and members of the SLR. CLUB celebrated its maiden journey at this year’s Mille Miglia, in the hands of the former Mercedes Formula 1 drivers Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard. Sir Stirling Moss himself had even made a return to Brescia to be an eye-witness to this historic event. The SLR Stirling Moss is a limited edition of 75 examples, and production of the SLR series will then cease at the end of 2009.
The SLR spirit lives on
The SLR project was conceived for a limited period, and as a limited edition, from the very start, and is now coming to a magnificent, entirely fitting end with the SLR Stirling Moss. The SLR spirit lives on, however, and will be perpetuated by the enthusiastic members of the SLR. CLUB. In addition to a passion for driving, the members of this exclusive community of gentleman-drivers, all of whom have an SLR model in their garages, share a discerning, sophisticated lifestyle and the enjoyment of encounters with like-minded enthusiasts. The high-quality event calendar of the SLR. CLUB includes driving events on the most demanding race circuits, participation in the Mille Miglia and tours covering the most picturesque routes in Europe. Individual, long-term backup and care at the very highest level for SLR. CLUB members is assured by dedicated Mercedes-Benz personnel well beyond the end of production.
The birth of a legend
The SLR legend was born in 1955, when Rudolf Uhlenhaut, then head of passenger-car testing and in charge of racing-car development at Mercedes-Benz, transformed a fascinating idea into reality. He combined the design and technology of the spectacular Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Gullwing” model produced since 1954 with the outstanding characteristics of the 300 SLR, one of the most successful racing machines of all time, which at that time dominated all the major road races – above all the notorious Tourist Trophy in Northern Ireland and the two Italian classics: Targa Florio and Mille Miglia. Here Stirling Moss and Dennis Jenkinson piloted the racing Mercedes to victory in a record time that still stands to this very day. But the Brits were not the only ones to achieve success in the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. Juan Manuel Fangio, who went on to become Formula-1 World Champion five times, and the speedy Karl Kling drove the sports car from Untertürkheim to many a place on the rostrum.The road-going Coupé version of this legendary racing machine – better known as the “Uhlenhaut Coupé” among automotive aficionados – was at the heart of the passionate affection for the SLR held by automotive enthusiasts.
High-class synthesis of legend, performance and comfort
The models in the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren family, which have been rolling off the assembly lines at the world championship-winning team’s headquarters in Woking since 2004, are the most emphatic reminders of the glory years of the SLR during the 1950s. They have brought the core values of the historic SLR models into the modern era – an exciting design featuring many details reminiscent of its predecessors, innovative technology and carefully hand-crafted, high-grade materials. They also continue the tradition of the high-class Gran Turismo models in time-honoured fashion. The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren models offer a beguiling mix of optimum handling, extremely high speed and outstanding acceleration, not to mention a wealth of exquisite appointments, all of which makes for a truly unique driving experience.
To keep faith with the traditionally unique standing of the SLR, Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive pooled all of their extensive motor-racing know-how to produce the super sports car. By way of example, the SLR models set the very highest of standards in terms of handling, rigidity and safety for high-performance cars thanks to the extremely widespread use of exceptionally lightweight yet very strong carbon-fibre materials, including the carbon-fibre front structures based on Formula 1 monocoque constructions, which optimise the car’s crashworthiness.
Outstanding powerplant for the front-mid-engine concept
In addition to this, the front-mid-engine concept allows the masses to be concentrated near the centre of the car, which makes for a low mass moment of inertia and consequently exceptional agility and handling dynamics. This concept, together with a chassis configuration born on the racetrack, forms the basis for optimum handling and peerless driving enjoyment.Here an important part is also played by the powerful high-tech engine with motor-racing genes, which was developed at Mercedes-AMG and provides power in abundance. In the Coupé and Roadster models, the driver can call upon 460 kW (626 hp) from the eight-cylinder powerplant with a displacement of 5.5 litres, while the “722” models develop 478 kW (650 hp), ranking the SLR engines among the most powerful units for road-going production sports cars.
Exciting design and exquisite interior
The design of the SLR high-performance sports cars generates sheer excitement by virtue of the stretched bonnet, taut waistline, rear-set passenger cell and short rear end of the Coupé and Roadster – making the thrill of high-speed performance visible as well. Features born on the racetrack include the downforce-enhancing aerodynamic concept incorporating a diffuser, an enclosed underbody, a spoiler and the AIRBRAKE.
As for the interior of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren models, the designers have created a synthesis of puristic sports-car feeling and extraordinary luxury. Exquisite materials such as carbon fibre, aluminium and leather developed exclusively for the SLR are of the highest quality and exclusivity. They dominate the passenger area of the Gran Turismo and further emphasise the unique nature of the car.