It wasn't enough that the racing cars, the 300 SLR and the W 196, were conspicuous on the race-track, they should also be noticed on their way to the races. What was actually more important, was that in the event of a defect, the car could be brought back to the factory as quickly as possible. Thus, it's not surprising that some were amazed to see a loaded truck speeding down the fast lane, passing the rather sedately travelling normal cars at a speed of 160 km/h.
If it comes to that, the smallest Porsche was hardly faster than the truck. And they probably had no problems at all finding volunteers to drive it. Thus the vehicle emerged at the beginning of 1954, under the direction of the engineer, Hennige. Of course the tubular frame from the SL was not suitable, indeed, the M 198 engine was what they decided on, even if, for reasons of durability, the performance was reduced by a few horsepower.
It was in fact, the 300 S chassis, with a somewhat longer wheelbase and somewhat longer overhangs. In the front, it was to have had the doors from the 180, but not it's wind-down windows. And of course, the side-mounted indicators were also somehow familiar. Unfortunately, one could not foresee, that at the end of 1955, Mercedes would pull out of motor-racing.
Thus the relatively new truck spent the rest of its life modestly in America. After that, and once again in Germany, it was pushed much harder as a particularly large trial- and testing vehicle, which didn't do it any good at all. No-one recognised the potential value that it had and it was scrapped in 1967. The one shown in the above pictures, is a copy. 09/14