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- Sick_Cylinder
Mercedes Benz built 9 300 SLR's in 1955, 7 with roadster bodywork (car 722 driven by Stirling Moss won the Mille Miglia), 2 were built with Coupe bodywork (chassis numbers 00007 and 00008), but were never raced because Mercedes withdrew from racing following the Le Mans tragedy.
Motorsport Director Rudolph Uhlenhaut converted one of the Coupe's to road use by fitting silencers (mufflers). Here he is below with his car.
In 1955 this must have been the fastest and most technically advanced road legal car in the world! The specs make for mouth watering reading - the body was made of Elektron (Magnesium alloy) for ultra lightweight. The engine was based on the current 2.5 litre F1 engine, but enlarged from 2.5 to 3.0 litres and was a fuel injected, slant straight eight with central power take off by gear to prevent crankshaft flex. Valve operation was desmodromic - with closure of the valves by cam instead of spring as well as opening by cam (this eliminates the possibility of valve float, which occurs when the periodic frequency of the valve spring matches the revs of the engine. Braking was by huge inboard drums (to reduce unsprung weight). In the picture below of the engine bay, you can see the front inboard drums and their cooling fins together with the eight ram pipes leading to the plenum / inlet - this was fed directly with air via a gauze covered opening at the front of offset bonnet bulge. The large gap between the fourth and fifth ram pipe is due to the additional main bearing on the crankshaft - one either side of the central power take off cog. Power is listed as 304bhp in the June edition of "Mercedes Benz Enthusiast" magazine - this edition has a special multi-page feature on this car.
This is a car which I would love PD to include in the game and which, given their excellent relationship with Mercedes Benz, should be a possibility. If PD could give us a D Type Jaguar (and / or a C Type) together with a Ferrari and a Maserati we would be able to create the races which sadly never happened because of the withdrawal of Mercedes from racing in 1955. Below interior shot.
Please also vote for the roadster version and similar cars from Jaguar, Maserati and Ferrari.
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