Mercedes-Benz W08

Mercedes-Benz W 08
Mercedes-Benz W08 Sport Roadster (1929)
Overview
Manufacturer	Mercedes-Benz
Also called	1928-33: Mercedes-Benz Typ Nürburg 460 :Mercedes-Benz 18/80 PS 1931-32: Mercedes-Benz Typ Nürburg 500 :Mercedes-Benz 19/100 PS 1932-39: Mercedes-Benz Typ 500
Production	1928–1939 3,824 units
Assembly	Stuttgart, Germany
Body and chassis
Class	Large luxury car
Body style	Torpedo bodied 6 seater “Tourenwagen” 6-seater Pullman-Limousine Roadster 2 & 4-door Cabriolets (various)
Layout	FR layout
Powertrain
Engine	1928-33: 4,622cc Inline-eight engine 1931-39: 4,918cc Inline-eight engine
Dimensions
Wheelbase	standard chassis 1928 – 39: 3,670 mm (144 in) short chassis 1931-33: 3,430 mm (135 in)
Length	5,140 mm (202 in) - 5,380 mm (212 in)
Width	1928-29: 1,760 mm (69 in) 1929-39: 1,820 mm (72 in)
Height	1928-29: 1,900 mm (75 in) 1929-39: 1,820 mm (72 in)

The Mercedes-Benz Nürburg 460 was introduced in Autumn 1928,Mercedes-Benz's first eight-cylinder passenger car. Designated model W 08 was by the factory, it remained in production with various modifications and upgrades until the later summer of 1939, the longest lived Mercedes-Benz model of the 1920s and 1930s.

The car was developed by Ferdinand Porsche, who had transferred to Daimler from the firm’s Austrian affiliate in 1923. Porsche was the board member with responsibility for new product development. The company’s objective with the new eight cylinder Mercedes-Benz was to come up with a serious competitor to the , and Porsche’s work on the new car appears to have been very rushed. The result was a car with a traditional “overslung” (“Hochbett”) chassis with the longitudinal chassis members directly above the axles, at a time when newer designs increasingly favored “underslung” (“Tiefbett”) chassis layouts on which the axles sat directly above the load bearing chassis beams. The 1928 Mercedes-Benz W08 therefore looked unfashionably tall even at the time of its launch.

The engine was a 4,622cc straight-8 side-valve unit for which maximum output was given as 80 PS (59 kW; 79 hp) at 3,400 rpm which translated into a top speed of 100 km/h (63 mph). The wheels were suspended from rigid axles supported by semi-elliptical leaf springs at the front and at the back. Braking applied on all four wheels using a mechanical linkage supported by a Bosch-Dewandre vacuum suction device.

The car was close in size to the which had effectively been benchmarked for its design. The 1928 “Pullman-Limousine” bodied version of the Horch came with an overall length of 5,000 mm (200 in) and a weight of 2,100 kg (bare chassis weight 1400 kg). The 1928 “Pullman-Limousine” bodied version of the Mercedes-Benz Nürburg 460 was 4,890 mm (193 in) long which increased to 5,200 mm (200 in) when the detachable rear boot/trunk was added: the Mercedes weighed in at 2,150 kg (bare chassis weight 1550 kg). Both cars had an imposing height in this standard bodied form of 1,900 mm (75 in) even though the Horch had since its 1926 launch incorporated an “underlung” chassis. The cars’ respective widths were 1,765 mm (69.5 in) and 1,760 mm (69 in).

In addition to the “Pullman-Limousine” bodied car, priced by Mercedes-Benz at 15,000 Marks, buyers of the 1928 W08 could choose a Torpedo bodied 6 seater “Tourenwagen” for 14,000 Marks or a 4-door “Cabriolet D” for 17,500 Marks. There is also mention of a reduced wheelbase 2-door cabriolet, although it is not clear whether any of these were produced based on the 1928 W 08.