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- Herausgeber: Crowood
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
In the very beginning, the automotive industry was dominated by open-top vehicles whose body shapes were very much based on the horse-drawn carriage, there were open and closed carriages and then there was the Coupe. These were developed from the type of carriage known as the Berlin coach, which was designed as a classic vehicle for individual luxury travel and prestige. This type of carriage offered an intimate atmosphere focused exclusively on the passengers; it did not even have space for luggage, it simply exuded style, elegance and luxury in every way. This first volume of the Mercedes-Benz Coupe book addresses the journey from what was a functional sports car design to what has become the incomparable Mercedes-Benz 'Sports Coupe'; its timeless body design has remained, even today both a dream car and a dream Coupe to anyone whom aspires to follow in the footsteps of the early individualists who chose style and elegance over practicality. With over 300 photographs and illustrations, this book includes: an overview of the early days of 'Sports-Car' design; the influences of aerodynamics on design evolution; early protagonists at Daimler-Benz and how they influenced design of the Coupe shape; how the Racing Coupe influenced what became the production Sport Coupe; the experimental and one-off prototypes, and finally the continuation of the Super Sport Light concept through the 'S-Class' range.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
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Mercedes-BenzSport-Light Coupé
THE COMPLETE STORY
NIK GREENE
First published in 2021 byThe Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR
www.crowood.com
This e-book first published in 2021
© Nik Greene 2021
All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978 1 78500 823 8
AcknowledgementsFirst and foremost I would like to thank the various people with whom I have spoken in the ‘archive’ department of Daimler Stuttgart: I cannot express the pleasure I get from delving through the information, and I will never take for granted that opportunity I have had over the last few years. I am never allowed to mention them by name, but rest assured I appreciate every single person there for putting up with my demands.
In particular I would like to thank all at Crowood for turning my work into a real book.
Thank you Gerrit den Hollander for your treasured catalogue and brochure information; also Philip Morgan, for the pictures of your beautiful C107 500 SLC; and a big thank-you, Harry Niemann, for your valued assistance with research and your amazing books.
Finally, my wife Trudy: thanks for all the tea and patience.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
The concept of the ‘Coupé’ dates back to the days when horsepower literally meant how many animals you harnessed to your carriage, and subsequently, when automotive design was still dominated by body shapes that were very much based on the horse-drawn carriage. First, there were open and closed carriages, and then there were Coupés.
It is thought that the Coupé was developed from the style of carriage known as the Berlin coach, which was designed as a vehicle for individual luxury travel over long distances with not a small amount of prestige. The Coupé came about as a secondary carriage to the Berlin coach, as owners needed something smaller but just as salubrious for days out and ‘shopping’ trips.
This type of carriage focused exclusively on the passengers, offering an intimate atmosphere, and simply exuding style, elegance and luxury in every way; it did not have space even for luggage, and if this were necessary for an extended trip, it would have been transported in a separate baggage cart.
Although many have misunderstood the Coupé concept to signify ‘two-door’, that is not strictly true; from the French word ‘couper’, meaning ‘to cut’, the body style still looked like a traditional four-seat carriage, but truncated, so that only two people were protected by the body and roof. The driver would often sit up front, enjoying the pleasures of open-air motoring, while his passengers would sit in comfort.
An English four-wheel ‘Brougham’ Coupé coach.
A two-wheel, single-horse Coupé coach.
There were a multitude of adaptations of four-wheel Coupé carriages, and even a number of two-wheel versions; these were often drawn by a single horse, and sometimes the driver held the reins and steered from inside an enclosed cab area, rather than being seated outside. As a fast yet comfortable city tourer, the Coupé style quickly became synonymous with wealth and speed, and generally the people who chose this mode of travel also liked to demonstrate a sense of style and individuality.
As Daimler-Mercedes and Benz invented the entire notion of the automobile, it was only natural that they would boast a rich history in the Coupé body style. The brand has somewhat pioneered the form, releasing such landmark Coupés both in a ‘saloon/sedan’ style as well as a sporty version – and every one of these Coupés has marked a pivotal moment in the evolution of the motorcar.
THE IMAGE OF THE SPORTS CAR
In the early years of racing development, Mercedes-Benz designed what became known as the legendary ‘Silver Arrow’ for motor sport, with ever flatter, narrower, and more streamlined bodies. In doing so they found that there was simply not enough room around the front end for the brand’s traditional radiator, so the engineers developed an elliptical radiator grille – this quickly became the model for the current sports-car look at Mercedes-Benz.
Head of design Dr Fritz Nallinger, also a member of the Mercedes Board of Management, explained that, at a time when they were considering production of a road-going sports car, if they were to move forwards with a sports-car design then a new radiator face would have to be designed to reflect both the Daimler-Benz name as well as their sporting heritage. Although initially met with criticism from those who thought the public would not recognize the brand, this two-pronged approach to radiator design, even on its production vehicles, has become not only recognizable, but also a ‘badge of honour’ for anyone driving one to date.
The Uhlenhaut Coupé showing its open-mouth grille.
1935 W25 and 1937 W125 showing the evolution of the radiator mouth in racing.
The L319 small truck adopted the SL-style grille in 1954 (left), and the original truck three-pointed star (right).
Since then, these roadster and Coupé versions have had a broad ‘face’, modelled on the Silver Arrows, and a large Mercedes three-pointed star in the middle, clearly marking it out as part of the brand. Initially designers took the idea from the large, centrally positioned, three-pointed star on the large vertical radiator of all Mercedes-Benz trucks. However, this idea was not one sided; once entrenched into the minds of the public, a similar SL-style grille was used on all their trucks and buses.
THE TRADEMARK RADIATOR GRILLE
Daimler-Benz automobiles have come to be recognized by their radiator grille, whether it be the slightly V-shaped chrome-work or the ‘three-pointed star’ sitting proudly atop it. However, the pointed or V-shaped radiator was not a feature that adorned all vehicles produced by the world’s oldest car maker. In 1926 Daimler and Benz merged to become Daimler-Benz AG, the model range was restructured, and vehicles were offered under the brand name ‘Mercedes-Benz’. Initially it was only the large, 6-cylinder, supercharged vehicles that were equipped with the pointed radiator, but the new ‘amalgamated’ models, the 8/38bhp and 12/55bhp models, as well as the 8-cylinder Nürburg of 1928, were given a flat radiator generally, to characterize the smaller class of car.
The V-shaped radiator grille of the bigger supercharged engines versus the flat front of the non-supercharged engine.
At this early stage of motor manufacturing, the Daimler radiator design was copied widely by other manufacturers, mostly due to its engineering efficiency; this was even the case at Benz & Cie before the two companies merged. Very often, the only visible difference between any of the company’s automobiles, especially from the front, was the logo. It was Mercedes-Benz, however, who quickly recognized that the radiator shape had become not just an engineering necessity, but was also a recognizable style feature of all Mercedes-Benz models, along with, of course, the Mercedes three-pointed star, which has also become a familiar feature on the front of every Mercedes-Benz model from the merger in the mid-1920s.
Emil Jellinek was maybe the first person to recognize that ‘naming’ an automobile would define it as a brand when he named his Daimlers after his own daughter ‘Mercedes’.
Around the middle of the 1930s, many car manufacturers recognized that the image of their brand could be strongly influenced by the radiator design. They therefore endeavoured to give their vehicles a new, distinctive front in order to emphasize the sense of belonging to the brand. The designers at Mercedes-Benz chose a different path. They retained the traditional shape but adapted it almost imperceptibly and with great care to any changes to the vehicle’s overall shape. This adherence to the traditional visual symbol proved a significant competitive advantage for the brand.
The already beautiful radiator design in 1901.
The typical Mercedes front underwent many changes over the years, but has remained an unmistakable and characteristic feature. The first Mercedes radiators stood up tall and straight against the oncoming wind, then in 1937, the radiator grille on the Mercedes-Benz Type 170V, although retaining the basic high, streamlined form, was tilted backwards slightly, giving a clear visual reflection of the vehicle’s exceptional dynamics.
This basic stylistic configuration continued well into the 1960s until when, to meet advancements in aerodynamics, the Mercedes-Benz radiator became wider and lower in accordance with the trend of making the bonnet flatter.
The W136 170VCabriolet showing off its raked radiator grille to emphasize movement.
TIMELINE
The Blitzen (lightning) Benz record car
1909–1911
W29 540K Streamliner
1938
SLS AMG GT3/4
since 2013
W194 300SL
1952
W194/11 300SL Prototype
1953
Mercedes-Benz racing-car transporter
1954–1967
W196 300SLR (Uhlenhaut Coupé)
1955
W198 300SL (Gullwing)
1954–1963
SLX Coupé design study
1965
C111/1
1969
C111/2
1970
C111/2Diesel
1976
C107 SLC
1971–1981
C126 Series-1 S-Class
1981–1985
C126 Series-2 S-Class
1981–1985
C112 Experimental Coupé
1991
C140 S-Class Series-1
1992–1996
F200 ‘Imagination Coupé’
1996
C140 S-Class Series-2 CL-Class
1996–1998
C215 series CL-Class Coupés
1999–2006
C216 series-1 CL-Class Coupés
2006–2010
C216 series-2 CL-Class Coupés
2010–2014
C217 series CL-Class Coupés
2014–2018
C199 SLR McLaren
2004–2009
C197 SLS AMG
2010–2015
CHAPTER ONE
EARLY RACING HISTORY
The earliest motor races were contested over the ruler-straight routes nationales of France, and for good reason. First, the French received the emergence of the horseless carriage as a practical means of transport with more understanding and far fewer restrictions than those that plagued it elsewhere, particularly in England. Second, these early French pioneers were faced with the task of proving that carriages drawn by mechanical means could, in fact, represent an effective replacement to those behind horses or other suitable animals.
The automobile’s rise to ascendancy on the roads proved a slow and arduous process in which social, economic and political factors all played a role, and the primary intention of these early races was more about proving that these new-fangled vehicles could run with a modicum of reliability and safety. The general public at the time was already sceptical of what these auto cars – or automobiles, or motor cars, as they were variously called – were capable of achieving, so it was vital to prove that they were able to cover a reasonable amount of ground faster and more efficiently than animal-propelled carts and carriages.
Engineers and constructors alike also knew that this was an ideal way of pushing their technical abilities, and many improvements in the design and construction of the motor car itself were made in a very short time – but importantly too, these races became very well supported by those who saw a big commercial and financially beneficial future for the motor car. The connection between Daimler and Jellinek was made initially to build a car for one of these races. Daimler also supplied engines to Peugeot via Panhard-Levassor.
This Panhard-Levassor, with an engine power output of 3.5HP (2.6kW), came fourth out of twenty-one vehicles that started; fifteen finished, nine with Daimler engines.
The first automotive competition was held just eight years after the invention of the automobile by Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz. A reliability trial was organized for ‘horseless carriages’ on 22 July 1894 by the Parisian newspaper Le Petit Journal. A total of 102 vehicles applied to take part, including cars with petrol engines, steam and electric vehicles, hydromobiles, and vehicles with compressed air, gas or electropneumatic drive systems. The event organizers allowed twenty of these to take part.
After a distance of 126km (78 miles), the first to cross the finishing line was a De-Dion-Bouton steam-powered car, closely followed by two vehicles by Panhard-Levassor and the Peugeot brothers, both powered by engines built under the Daimler licence. These were eventually declared joint victors, since the steam car did not comply with the rules of the competition and was instead awarded second place. They were followed by five more cars equipped with petrol engines, including a Roger-Benz, a French automobile manufacturer called Emile Roger who sold Benz cars and used a Benz engine. Therefore Daimler’s lighter ‘universal petrol engine’ and the Benz petrol engine had proved themselves in public as drive systems that must now be taken seriously.
The world’s first ‘proper’ automobile race took place a year later in 1895 on a route from Paris–Bordeaux–Paris. Once again, after 1,192km (740 miles) of racing, the winner’s name was Panhard-Levassor. Further proof of the reliability of the petrol engine was the fact that six of the first eight finishers were cars equipped with Panhard-Levassor engines built under the Daimler licence, and two Benz vehicles. Then in 1896 three cars with Daimler engines achieved a triple victory at the Paris–Marseille–Paris event, completing the 1,728km (1,074 miles) at an average speed of 25.2km/h (15.7mph).
The Nice–Magagnon–Nice race on 21 March 1899. Hermann Braun wins the touring race in a 24HP two-seater Daimler Phoenix racing car.
What Daimler and Maybach soon realized was that these Panhard-Levassor vehicles were so reliable because instead of placing the engine at the rear, like they had done, Panhard had placed the engine and radiator system at the front but with a rear-wheel-drive system. Maybach and Daimler responded almost immediately with the ‘Daimler Vis-à-Vis’. The 6HP, 2-cylinder Phoenix engine was transposed to the front for the first time along with Maybach’s newly patented radiator design. It consisted of many small tubes exposed to the air flow, which were continually flushed by coolant.
Vis-à-Vis 1897 6HP.
Compared with the earlier coiled-tube radiators and fly-wheel cooling, much more air was able to flow through the radiator area, which in turn permitted the water reservoir to be substantially reduced in size, thus reducing weight. This innovative design, without which development of the high-performance automobile would have been inconceivable, represented an important milestone in automobile development. However, Maybach never rested on his laurels, and on 8 August 1901 he filed for the protection of the so-called ‘honeycomb radiator’ – patent number ‘DRP 122 766’. This new type of radiator was described as a ‘cooling and condensation device based on the cross-flow principle’; although based on the original tubular radiator it had a much improved cooling capacity, and was space adaptable.
The honeycomb radiator was launched on 20 September 1900 (patent no. DRP 122766). The ‘three-pointed star’ can be clearly seen.
It was the 24HP Cannstatt-Daimler racer of 1901 that first used this radiator, and more importantly, it was organically integrated into the front body style; in this it was the final break away from the design concept of the first automobiles, which had been modelled on the coach design. This innovative design constituted a significant milestone in automotive development, in that at the time it fulfilled an important cooling capability requirement for vehicle engine design with increasingly higher power outputs.
The Daimler Rennwagen began to define automobile shape, including the placement of the radiator.
Almost every car from that moment forward featured a similar radiator design, but never for one second did anyone see anything other than the ability to keep the engine at a bearable working temperature. It was certainly not seen by car manufacturers as a way of personalizing their brand, at least until DMG introduced the V-shaped grille. As engines got bigger and more powerful they needed bigger radiators, but with this came the realization that smaller, smoother, more integrated, rounded bodies were more aerodynamic. Technically the ‘V’ shape was purely intended to add around 30 per cent more surface area to the movement of air around the radiator.
The V shape to the grille served better aerodynamics as well as a more efficient cooling surface area.
Both Daimler and Benz engineers, independently of one another, found with their experiments that air flow was not the ‘be all and end all’ of cooling efficiency. When air is moving too fast, you get into boundary layer issues where heat doesn’t get carried away because air isn’t actually touching fins and tubes; it was necessary to actually restrict the air flow sufficiently so it would ‘touch the sides’ as it flowed through.
Maybach answered this by fitting a decorative grille in front of the actual core of the radiator for all racing cars with the V grille. This extended into production road automobiles too.
BENZ & CIE
Carl Benz could work up little enthusiasm for motorsports events; however, he could see that DMG’s market success was undoubtedly the result of their successful participation in races, and eventually this made the Mannheim Company seriously consider designing a competitive racing car. In 1903 they took on the young French designer Marius Barbarou, and put him in charge of the design department with a team of selected colleagues. He developed a few cars and finally landed the ‘big hit’ with the Benz Parsifal in 1903.
Marius Barbarou with a 1903 Benz Parsifal.
Marius Barbarou Paris–Madrid (in Bordeaux), 24 May 1903.
Targa Florio, April 1907. Fritz Erle with mechanic Georg Gass with the Targa–Florio–Rennwagen.
In 1908 Benz and his engineers introduced a shell-style cowling as an extension to the bodywork, as can be seen from this Prince Heinrich automobile.
The style progressed over the next two years, and was used in what was to become the fastest car in the world.
It was Barbarou’s forward thinking that started to change the body profile from functionally square to a smoother, more rounded appearance, while also integrating the radiator grille into the body shape.
THE BLITZEN (LIGHTNING) BENZ: THE 200BHP RECORD CAR
At the beginning of 1909, Julius Ganss, working for Benz, was given permission to design a car that could reach a speed of over 200km/h (124.28mph). This car was based on the 150bhp Benz Grand Prix car.
In its first version, this gigantic 4-cylinder engine had an output of 184bhp at 1,500rpm, which could be increased to 200bhp at 1,600rpm by precision tuning. The engine weight was 407kg (897lb). The car was first raced by Fritz Erle in the kilometre race at Frankfurt/Main in August 1909. With a flying start, Erle covered a measured kilometre in 22.6sec – that is, at an average speed of 159.3km/h (99mph), winning the Grand Duchess of Hesse Prize for cars over 36 fiscal (taxable) HP.
At that time the car was still fitted with the body of the Benz Grand Prix car, and entered competitions under that name. In the same year, Ganss raced the Benz for the first time: he participated in a sprint race at Brussels, and clearly outclassed his competitors. Shortly after that, Ganss would significantly improve Erle’s best result at Brooklands, England, when he covered a measured kilometre with a flying start at an average speed of 202.7km/h (126mph). That was the first time the 200km/h (124.28mph) barrier was broken in Europe. The Benz record car established even more records: for instance, it covered a measured kilometre with a standing start at a speed of 31.326sec, and a measured mile at a speed of 41.268sec, breaking the existing records held by Darracq.
During this time designers and engineers in Mannheim had set to work on a new body for the record car, which was to give the vehicle its typical look. The tests revealed, however, that the old racing tracks in Europe were no longer adequate for these speeds, and ultimately the Benz Company began to concentrate all its activities in America.
The large 21.5-litre 4-cylinder engine put out 200bhp/147kW. The record-breaking car with the trendsetting streamlined bodywork achieved spectacular success on its first trials, and went down in history as the ‘Blitzen Benz’ (‘Lightning Benz’). It was not only the first car in Europe to exceed the magical 200km/h (124.28mph) mark – it also held the record as the fastest car in the world, with Bob Burman at the Daytona Beach, when it achieved a top speed of 228.1km/h (141.74mph). It kept this record until 1919.
The bore was increased to 185mm; this engine had the largest displacement (at 21,500cc) ever to be used in a racing or record car by Benz & Cie or DMG.
Original 150bhp Benz Grand Prix race cars (pre-Lightning body shape).
The original Benz record car (with a basic Lightning body).
The Benz record car was faster than any aircraft in its time; similar speeds were only reached in aviation ten years later.
For the first time the ‘Blitzen Benz’ (‘Lightning Benz’) design adhered to the principles of aerodynamics while simultaneously exuding vitality.
DMG also experimented with radiator cowling and body shape in the 16/45bhp Knight record car.
The Lightning Benz influenced the aesthetic design of automobiles generally to a considerable extent. The chassis, the engine compartment and front part were no longer separated from the bodywork at the bulkhead, but formed an integral unit. This design feature became standard on all passenger cars from that moment forwards.
AERODYNAMICS: A NEW TOOL IN DESIGN
Aerodynamics was a subject that was heavily preoccupying the automotive industry, and thus also the companies Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie, during the early part of the twentieth century. Triggered by the fascination for speed records and motor racing, wind resistance had become a serious consideration in normal passenger-car manufacturing as early as the 1920s, and even more so in the 1930s. The pinnacle of this development process was marked by the ‘540K Streamliner’: built in 1938, its aerodynamically tuned aluminium body made it a fitting candidate for high-speed tests by Daimler-Benz, and later for tyre-testing apparatus for the tyre manufacturer Dunlop.
As previously mentioned, Benz & Cie had gained their own purposive experience with aerodynamics over the 1909/1910 period, with the 200bhp racing car that became known from 1911 on as the ‘Blitzen Benz’, or ‘Lightning Benz’, which had set several world records. It was followed in the early 1920s by the ‘Teardrop’ car, so called because of its characteristic design. This was also the world’s first mid-engined racing car. In the early 1920s, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft undertook aerodynamic studies of racing cars intended for use in Indianapolis.
The 540K Streamliner was one of the first automobiles to be built using wind-tunnel testing. Although not an original photo, this was the same Untertürkheim-based wind tunnel.
The ‘Teardrop’ car was originally designed by Edmund Rumpler. The technical concept of the ‘Teardrop’, with its consequent streamlined shape and mid-engine, was so revolutionary that Benz obtained the reproduction rights for this car immediately.
In 1932 Reinhard von Koenig-Fachsenfeld caused quite a stir with a streamlined body for the Mercedes-Benz SSKL, in which Manfred von Brauchitsch promptly won the Avus race ahead of Rudolf Caracciola.
The Schlörwagen was an effort to create a truly aerodynamic car that would do justice to the new network of high-speed autobahns being constructed across Germany. The sole design brief was to create a car with the lowest drag coefficient possible, yet a car that was still practical.
This time in automotive evolution became the era of trail-blazing pioneers of aerodynamics such as Edmund Rumpler, Paul Jaray, Wunibald Kamm, Freiherr Reinhard von Koenig-Fachsenfeld and Karl Schlör von Westhofen-Dirmstein, all of whom understood that aerodynamics was not all about racing and so worked to improve the efficiency of passenger cars. Karl Schlör had a streamlined body built based upon a Mercedes-Benz 170H (W28), which attracted a lot of attention at the time. In the wind tunnel the model produced an excellent drag coefficient of 0.113, which would be an impressive figure even by today’s standards.
Several vehicles illustrate the efforts undertaken by Daimler-Benz to reduce wind resistance. The design of the rear-engined 130, 150 and 170H models, for example, was influenced by aerodynamic considerations. This can be seen particularly clearly in the lines of the model 150 sports saloon that attracted so much attention and ultimately proved successful in the ‘2,000km through Germany’ long-distance race of July 1934.
The 150 sports saloons ultimately proved successful in the ‘2,000km through Germany’ long-distance race of July 1934, partly due to their aerodynamic design.
When it came to vehicles for long-distance races such as this, or the planned long-distance Berlin–Rome run, originally set for 1938, the idea of the streamlined body played a similarly important role. After all, here, too, the objective was to achieve the highest possible speed and the lowest possible fuel consumption – in other words, to improve overall efficiency.
A 500K Coupé that took part in the same event bears witness to the efforts to achieve low wind resistance in the luxury car segment as well. With its curved windscreen and gently sloping rear section, this one-off vehicle, produced in the special vehicle production unit at Sindelfingen under Hermann Ahrens, is strongly reminiscent of the 500K ‘Autobahn Courier’ that had made its debut in March 1934 at the International Motor and Motorcycle Show (IAMA) in Berlin.
The two-door 500K Coupé set an early milestone in terms of progressive and innovative design. Further vehicles derived from it would go on to be created in the special vehicle production unit.
The years 1935 and 1936 brought similarly designed four-door versions based on the volume-produced models 200 (W21), 290 (W18) and 320 (W142). A characteristic feature of them all is that from a conventional front-end design the roofline curves back and downwards in a gentle arc to merge seamlessly into the rear section. In addition, the rear wheel arches are fully enclosed.
A streamlined 500K special, built for the Dutch East Indies Co. in 1935. The vehicle offered a possible solution as to how the upright radiator that was so characteristic of the brand could be incorporated into an aerodynamically styled body.
The rapidly expanding autobahn network brought new challenges for vehicle manufacturers and the associated accessories industry. A particularly important part in solving the problem of how to sustain high cruising speeds on the new autobahns was played by the tyre industry. The task was to develop tyres for high-performance vehicles, which by this time might weigh as much as 3 tonnes. And it was for this reason that the tyre industry began increasingly to look around for test vehicles that might be up to this development challenge. In Germany, the Mercedes-Benz 540K was one of the few vehicles that could meet this demand. For this vehicle and its proposed use in high-speed situations, the special vehicle production unit built a streamlined body in sheet aluminium that was designed in accordance with the very latest insights into aerodynamic performance.
Fitted with the streamlined body of 1938, with which the Cd value of 0.57 for a classic Coupé had been drastically reduced to a remarkable 0.36, cruising speeds of 165 to 170km/h (102 to 106mph) could be achieved, and with supercharger, a top speed of 185km/h (115mph) – at that time most extraordinary figures on public roads. However, it was established at a board meeting in April 1938 that not every detail of the proposed streamliner would reach the requisite standard in time to meet the deadline, with the outcome that three conventionally designed 5.4-litre super-charged models should be deployed instead. But then Berlin–Rome was postponed until 1939, and ultimately cancelled completely due to the outbreak of World War II.
In their quest for favourable aerodynamics the engineers also recognized that the brand emblem standing proud on the upright Mercedes-Benz radiator represented something of a challenge. One possible solution was suggested by a 500K streamlined model designed in 1935 for a customer in the Dutch East Indies (from 1949 Indonesia) by Hermann Ahrens’ special vehicle production unit. The enclosed Mercedes-Benz pointed radiator, as also the substitution of free-standing headlamps with headlamps that were integrated into the wings, were ideas that were consequently implemented on the Dunlop works 540K Streamliner.
The ‘Ponton’ passenger car took the aerodynamic lessons learned and became the first production Mercedes-Benz with integrated headlights.
The market for used vehicles also saw streamlined bodies gaining in popularity, with the result that work continued until 1942 on bodies of this type based around the proposed successor to the 170V. This work was abandoned due to the war situation. However, in 1953 the ‘Ponton unitary body’ was released as the W120.
EARLY PROTAGONISTS
As always there are important people who shoulder the responsibility of innovation and change, sometimes dreamers and sometimes visionaries, and sometimes working against the direction of the company – but ultimately these are the people who facilitate the evolution of a company.
Hermann Ahrens.
HERMANN AHRENS
Born 14 March 1904 in Uslar; died 9 November 1995 in Stuttgart.
Hermann Ahrens was one of the outstanding vehicle designers of his era. The basis for this ability was provided by an extremely solid, technical education: following an apprenticeship as a fitter, he trained as an engineering draughtsman, studied mechanical and electrical engineering in the 1920s in Bingen and Varel, and graduated with distinction as an engineer.
After roles at the D-Werke in Berlin-Spandau and the Horch factory in Zwickau, he joined Daimler-Benz AG on 12 September 1932, where he took charge of the special vehicle production unit at the Sindelfingen plant. Ahrens had come to the attention of the Sindelfingen plant manager, Dr Wilhelm Haspel, over the course of the various popular Concours d’Élégance that took place around that time, such as in Nice, Wiesbaden or Baden-Baden, where the mighty Horch cars that he had designed won prizes for their appearance.
During his time in the special vehicle production unit, Ahrens himself designed or oversaw the design of the bodyshells for such outstanding models as the 380 (W22), 500K (W29), 540K (W29 and W24), the Grand Mercedes (W07 and W150), G 4 (W31), 600 (W148 and W157) and the off-road sports models 170 (W15), 200 (W21), 170VS (W136) and 230 (W143 and W153).
Particularly when it came to exclusive models in the special class, one vehicle was seldom the same as the next. Even if they sometimes looked the same, or very similar, from the outside, the interior details would have differed significantly from one to another, as each car was appointed to the individual specification of its purchaser. Among them were a few vehicle bodies that, to look at, did not have what had by then become the expected appearance of a Mercedes-Benz luxury car.
Ahrens worked not only on passenger cars, but also on commercial vehicles. In the early 1940s he designed a bus that, with its flowing lines and angled radiator, differed significantly in shape from what had been conventional up to that point. Due to the war, however, this 4.5-tonne vehicle was never built. It was not until after World War II, in 1949, that a slightly modified version of it came on to the market.
From 1943 on, Ahrens, as head of the special commission on vehicle bodies, became the father of the angular truck cabs built out of wooden planks: known as ‘standardized army cabs’, these were built without using any steel.
Ahrens’ departure from Daimler-Benz AG in 1945 was dictated by legislation imposed by the Allied Control Council. He worked initially in the field of interior architecture before being taken on again on 1 April 1949, at Haspel’s urging, as head of development for bus and commercial vehicle bodies and for special assignments. Among these were the larger passenger-car models 300 (W186, later W189) and 300S (W188).
Ahrens’ period of responsibility as far as buses were concerned covered the transition to self-supporting vehicles with flushmounted and rear-mounted engines, and in terms of trucks, the design of the short-nosed and cab-over-engine models through to the concept for the COE generation of trucks that were built from 1973 until 1996. It was Ahrens who introduced a second ‘Mercedes face’ to the commercial vehicle range, one with more pronounced horizontal styling elements as first seen on the successful O321H model; this added to the familiar front end with the classic Mercedes radiator, so contributing to the widespread familiarity of this new, characteristic feature of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
WIND-TUNNEL HISTORY
The emergence of the wind tunnel at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Untertürkheim was closely linked to the aforementioned experiences gleaned from aeronautical engineering, and to the countless aerodynamically optimized prototypes and race cars that had attracted so much public attention during the 1920s and 1930s.
Dr-Ing. Wunibald Kamm, a graduated engineer, worked in vehicle development at Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) from 1922 to 1925. Following periods at the Schwäbische steelworks (SHW) in Aalen and the Deutsche Experimental Institute for Aviation (DVL) in Berlin-Adlershof, he became Professor and Chair of the Stuttgart Technology University. On 15 July 1930 he founded the ‘Research Institute for Automotive Engineering and Aircraft Engines’ as a non-profit foundation at the Technical University for the Württemberg Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Economics.
Professor Dr-Ing. E. h. Wunibald I. E. Kamm (1893–1966).
In the period that followed, the names and statutes underwent some changes: FKFS came to stand for Forschungsinstitut für Kraftfahrwesen und Fahrzeugmotoren Stuttgart (Research Institute for Automotive and Vehicle Engines), with the word ‘Flugzeugmotoren’ (aeroplane engines) being replaced by ‘Fahrzeugmotoren’ (vehicle engines). The institute still exists today and is an independent foundation under public law, receiving no public funding.
1934: The First Wind Tunnel
When it was founded in 1930, the institute was located in front of the Untertürkheim plant owned by the then Daimler-Benz AG when approached from the direction of Bad Cannstatt. The plant and the institute were separated at the time by a railway embankment, which no longer exists today.
In the tax year 1934, a small wind tunnel with a jet diameter of 70cm (27.6in) was installed to conduct tests on vehicle models. In addition, starting in 1935, aerodynamic resistance tests began to be carried out in the small wind tunnel and with coast-down tests using normal-sized vehicles. In the year that followed, a water-flow tunnel was built for aerodynamic resistance measurements on vehicle models.
Wunibald Kamm’s Wind Tunnel
A wind tunnel for full-scale vehicles came into existence between 1939 and 1943. Wunibald Kamm recognized that the full complexity of vehicle aerodynamics could not be measured using only a model version, and that research facilities for full-size vehicles were indispensable. The wind tunnel created by Kamm was a system based on the ‘Göttingen design’, with horizontal air ducting, one closed measurement section and one measurement section three-quarters open; it was 125m (410ft) long.
(Top) 1931: the original Professor Baumann’s ‘Laboratory for scientific and practical work on engines and motor vehicles’. (Bottom) 1937: under the FKFS, expansion was fast.
Early test bed with closed air-resistance measurements on a 1:5 vehicle model (1935).
A ‘full vehicle test field’, issued in 1938, with a four-roller dynamometer treadmill and floor turntable.
The new full-sized wind tunnel as built by Kamm in 1938.
The horizontal air-jet cross-section was 32.6sq m (350.8sq ft), and the measurement section was 10m (32.8ft) long. A 1:5 scale model of a Messerschmitt.
Although the institute was destroyed in 1944 and 1945 by air raids on the Untertürkheim plant, the main wind tunnel survived, though heavily damaged – immediately following the liberation by the French, it was actually scheduled to be dismantled. However, the institute’s new director, Professor Paul Riekert, managed to save the wind tunnel by filling it so full of vehicles and instruments that he was able to present it to the ‘Occupation Authority’ as an important warehouse for the institute.
By 1950, the test site at the Technical University became a focus of deliberation for Dr Wilhelm Haspel, Managing Director of the then Daimler-Benz AG. During a meeting of the Board of Management on 10 May 1950, he voiced his opinion that if any property purchases were to be made, the test site at the Technical University should be considered first and foremost, since test beds and the wind tunnel were already located there.
The Daimler-Benz Wind Tunnel
In 1954, the company acquired, from the City of Stuttgart, property lots on the other side of the railway embankment, on which Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle testing is located today, and also where the FKFS wind tunnel is found. At the same time, the FKFS was once again able to take over operations of the wind tunnel after the restrictions of World War II. From 1960 onwards, vehicle development at Mercedes-Benz used more and more of the wind tunnel’s capacity; this increased to 40 per cent of capacity in 1970.
