Mercedes-Benz 300SLR
 |
|
| Category | World Sportscar Championship |
|---|---|
| Constructor | Mercedes |
| Designer(s) | Rudolf Uhlenhaut |
| Technical specifications | |
| Engine | Mercedes-Benz 2,981.70 Front mid |
| Tyres | Continental |
| Competition history | |
| Notable entrants | Daimler Benz AG |
| Notable drivers |
 Juan Manuel Fangio Stirling Moss Pierre Levegh
|
| Debut | Mille Miglia |
| Drivers' Championships | 1 (1955 World Sportscar Championship) |
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (W196S) was an iconic 2-seat sports racer that took sportscar racing by storm in 1955, winning that year's World Sportscar Championship before a catastrophic crash and fire at Le Mans ended its domination prematurely.
Designated "SL-R" (for Sport Leicht-Rennen, eng: Sport Light-Racing, later condensed to "SLR"), the 3-liter thoroughbred was derived from the company's Mercedes-Benz W196 Formula One racer. It shared most of its drivetrain and chassis, with the 196's fuel-injected 2,496.87 cc straight 8 bored and stroked to 2,981.70 cc and boosted to 310 bhp (230 kW).
The W196s monoposto driving position was modified to standard two-abreast seating, headlights were added, and a few other changes made to adapt a strictly track competitor to a 24-hour road/track sports racer.
Two of the nine 300 SLR rolling chassis produced were converted into 300 SLR/300 SL hybrids. Effectively road legal racers, they had coupé styling, gull-wing doors, and a footprint midway between the two models.
When Mercedes canceled its racing program after the Le Mans disaster, the hybrid project was shelved. Company design chief Rudolf Uhlenhaut, architect of both the 300 SLR racer and the hybrids, appropriated one of the leftover mules as his personal driver. Capable of approaching 290 km/h (180 mph), the Uhlenhaut Coupé was far and away the fastest road car in the world in its day.
"The greatest sports racing car ever built — really an unbelievable machine."
In spite of the "300 SL" in its name and strong resemblance to both the streamlined 3-liter straight 6 1952 W194 Le Mans racer and the iconic 1954 300SL (W198) Gullwing road car the W194 spawned, the 1955 300 SLR was not derived from either. Instead, it was based on the wildly successful 2.5-liter straight 8 1954–1955 Mercedes-Benz W196 Formula One champion, with the W196's engine enlarged to 3.0 liters for the sports car racing circuit and designated "SL-R" for Sport Leicht-Rennen (eng: Sport Light-Racing), later condensed to "SLR". All were the work of Mercedes' prodigious design chief Rudolf Uhlenhaut.
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