NO war secret was more zealously guarded than the details of the radically different Mercedes-Benz which the company planned to re-enter international Formula I during 1954. The firm's top engineers had worked on it for two years without giving out any hint of the project. When designs were finalised they smilingly handed out photos of their creation, but said not a word about it - not even to deny or confirm various rumours. "Wait till she's had her first race," they said. The event chosen for the car's debut was the French Grand Prix at Rheims on July 4. There the lid came off the secret with a bang.
Driven by Argentinian
Juan Fangio and German Karl Kling, the silver-painted Mercedes-Benz streamliners left their rivals for dead. They leapt ahead from the start and every lap saw them drawing farther away from the
Alfa Romeos,
Ferraris,
Maserati’s, and
Jaguars that had dominated international racing since World War 2. The race started at midnight in rainy, windy weather, with squalls that reduced visibility to danger point. Daylight brought little relief; every now and then a heavy downpour would blot out the racers. Of 47 starters, 22 failed to stay the distance.
But the two German cars kept lapping the 5-mile circuit at ever-increasing speed. As the morning wore on, their drivers, now sure of success, put on a show of skill for the spectators, drawing close together and circling the course side by side. When the flag fell at noon, winner Fangio crossed the line only a quarter of a second in front of team-mate Kling. In 12 hours he had covered the fantastic distance of 1390.52 miles at an average speed of 115.96 m.p.h. Considering the weather and the toughness of the circuit, which included four fast curves, and two hairpin bends that normally had to be taken at 30 m.p.h., it was an incredible achievement.
As the two silver bullets returned to the pits they were mobbed by crestfallen drivers and mechanics from the defeated cars. Here the secrets of Mercedes-Benz' surprise packet were revealed at last. It has an eight-cylinder in-line engine, mounted at an angle to allow a low bonnet. Bore was 76 mm., stroke 68.8 mm., capacity 2496 c.c. Direct fuel injection was used, with pump and nozzles by Bosch; ignition was by Bosch magneto, with two spark plugs per cylinder. Twin exhaust pipes were fitted. The car had a single-disc dry clutch and a five-speed transmission to the rear axle. Front-wheel suspension was independent; rear suspension was by swing axle with lowered pivot. Springing was by torsion bars.
The four-wheel brakes had turbo-cooled drums of light metal and were fitted at the chassis, separately from the wheels. The 16-inch diameter wire-spoke wheels could take tyres of varying sizes, depending on the requirements of the race. The streamlined body was of light alloy and had air-scoops to cool the brakes, the rear tyres, and the driver's cockpit.