Mercedes-Benz W125
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| Category | Grand Prix | ||||||||
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| Constructor | Mercedes-Benz | ||||||||
| Designer(s) |
Max Sailer Albert Heess Max Wagner Rudolf Uhlenhaut |
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| Predecessor | Mercedes-Benz W25 | ||||||||
| Successor | Mercedes-Benz W154 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Tubular frame | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Independent suspension with wishbones, coil springs, hydraulic dampers | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | De Dion axle, torsion bars, hydraulic dampers | ||||||||
| Engine | Mercedes-Benz M125 5.6 litre Straight-8 supercharged | ||||||||
| Transmission | Mercedes-Benz 4-speed transverse | ||||||||
| Fuel | Methanol/benzol blend | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Daimler-Benz AG | ||||||||
| Notable drivers |
Manfred von Brauchitsch Rudolf Caracciola Hermann Lang Richard Seaman |
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| Debut | 1937 Tripoli Grand Prix | ||||||||
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| Drivers' Championships | 1 | ||||||||
The Mercedes-Benz W125 was a Grand Prix racing car designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut to race during the 1937 Grand Prix season. The car was used by Rudolf Caracciola to win the 1937 European Championship and W125 drivers also finished in the second, third and fourth positions in the championship.
The supercharged engine, with 8 cylinders in line (94.0 x 102.mm) and 5,662.85 cc (345.56 CID), attained an output of up to 595 horse power (444 kW) in race trim. The highest test bed power measured was 637 BHP (646 PS) at 5,800 rpm. It gave 245 BHP (248 PS) at a mere 2,000 rpm. In 1938, the engine capacity of supercharged Grand Prix cars was limited to 3000cc, and the W125 was replaced by the Mercedes-Benz W154.
The W125 was considered the most powerful race car ever for about 3 decades, until large capacity American-built V8 engines in CanAm sportcars reached similar power in the mid 1960s. In Grand Prix racing itself, the figure was not exceeded until the early 1980s (when Grand Prix racing had become known as Formula One), with the appearance of turbo-charged engines in Formula One.
The W125 reached race speeds of well over 300 km/h (190 mph) in 1937, especially on the AVUS in Berlin, equipped with a streamlined body.
In land speed record runs, a Mercedes-Benz W125 Rekordwagen was clocked at 432.7 km/h (268.9 mph) over a mile and a kilometer. This car was fitted with a DAB V12 engine (82.0 x 88 mm) of 5,576.75 cc (340.31 CID) with a power of 726 BHP (736 PS) at 5,800 rpm. The weight of this engine caused the car to weigh over the 750 kg maximum limit, so it never appeared in Grand Prix..
Due to the uncompetitiveness of their W25 car, Mercedes pulled out of the 1936 Grand Prix Season midway through the year in order to concentrate on designing a car that would see them return to the top of the rankings. A new racing department ('Rennabteilung') was set up within Mercedes-Benz in order to work on the car. Rudolf Uhlenhaut, previously a production car engineer for the company, was selected to lead the design team in late 1936. Uhlenhaut had not previously designed a racing car, but had significant experience testing road cars on the Nürburgring race track, experience which allowed him to adapt his knowledge relatively easily to race cars.
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