1955 Mercedes Uhlenhaut Coupé
The car was named after Rudolf Uhlenhaut, since 1931 engineer at Daimler-Benz and strongly responsible for the dominance of the Silver Arrows before the Second World War. The companies racing engagement
started again in 1948. It had the talent of either attracting or producing good people.
There's Dr. Hans Scherenberg, who brought his direct injection developed for aircraft engines successfully on the road. Ludwig Krause later freed DKW from the two-stroke engine, created the so-called medium-
pressured combustion engines and then justifed the upper class in the VW Group with the Audi 100. And then there was Alfred Neubauer as a skilful race director.
The presented car abounds of innovations, has little in common with the 300 SL up to the petrol direct injection and Uhlenhauts ingenious tubular frame. The bonnet of the Super Light Racing
is slightly longer, but rear side windows are missing. Also, the space for the passenger seat are very modest because it was originally built for the European Sports Car Championship.
The engine was originally made from two four-cylinder inliners, not unusual in automotive engineering, considering only the first four-inline (two-two-cylinders), the Cadillac V-16 (two V-8) or the BMW V-12 (from two
inline-sixcylinders). So the tapping of the torque in the middle explains itself much better. We know it for example. from the twelve-cylinder flat engine of the Porsche 917.
From Stuttgart to Munich in one hour |
Only the inner part of the cylinder block is casted, while the water jacket is realized by welded sheets. The valve train is characterized by relatively speed-resistant desmodromics. The whole engine is arranged clearly
behind the front axle, rear clutch and gearbox. This in turn creates space for so-called brake shafts, inwardly shifted drum brakes, which are cooled by a special air supply. The exhaust ends early in the side just
before the greenhouse begins.
The fastest street legal vehicle of its time |
Uhlenhaut is, as Michael Schumacher later is said, an important link between the racers and the technicians. He sometimes drives faster than famous racing drivers of his time and can systematically improve with
his expertise. Because of the so suddenly ended, very successful racing engagement of Mercedes Uhlenhaut uses the coupé as a company car. 01/18
|