Mercedes-Benz 220 SE (W 111), 1960 - 1964
Daimler-Benz AG sent a sensational signal with its withdrawal from factory top-level motor racing at the end of the 1955 season. Nevertheless, it was absolutely clear to the company's management bodies that such a commitment always resulted in numerous positive effects. The successful presence of Mercedes-Benz on the world's racetracks increased the abstract value of the brand and at the same time its nimbus. In addition, the brand loyalty of the correspondingly inclined audience was further increased and motivation within the company was enhanced. The end of Formula 1 and racing sports car racing initiated by the factory thus primarily constituted a retreat from the glaring media spotlight that fell on the two spectacular top categories of motorsport worldwide.
On a different motorsport level, however, continuity prevailed as far as the Stuttgart-based company's activities were concerned. As in the previous year, the duo Walter Schock/Rolf Moll, among others, had competed in the Rally Monte-Carlo in mid-January 1956 – barely three months after the official end of all motorsport involvement – in a Mercedes-Benz 220 a Saloon from the W 180 model series and had taken second place overall. At the end of the year, the team even managed to win the title of European Rally Champions. Although this was not formally a factory entry, as this was not permitted in the European Rally Championship at the time, the car had been prepared in the factory's sports department under the direction of Karl Kling.
With the première of the successor model series W 111 in August 1959, Mercedes-Benz took the next step in rallying. Although the design of the events and the vehicles were still very far removed from what is understood by rallying from today's perspective and has been for more than four decades, the direct technical relationship of the vehicles used at that time to the corresponding mass-produced cars made this type of motor racing an attractive field of activity for Daimler-Benz as well, which was definitely cultivated emphatically in the background.
Like its predecessor, the six-cylinder "Fintail Mercedes" was tailor-made for the character of rallying, which in that era was more like a sporting endurance run. In the very diverse field of participants in the European Rally Championship, the four-door saloon in its top version 220 SE with the 2.2-litre six-cylinder fuel-injected engine represented one of the largest vehicles in terms of its dimensions and the most powerful in terms of its engine output.
Technically, as well as in its external appearance, the rally version remained largely unchanged from the production vehicle. In accordance with the regulations in effect at the time, only individual, very specific modifications were possible and necessary to take account of the requirements of rallying. With its unibody construction resting on an extremely robust frame floor assembly, the 220 SE withstood even the toughest rallying.
The same applied to the design of the wheel suspension. At the front, a double wishbone axle with helical springs and external telescopic shock absorbers was used. A torsion bar stabiliser was used to limit roll in fast corners. The rear suspension was the traditional Mercedes-Benz single-joint swing axle, which was also equipped with helical springs and external telescopic shock absorbers. An additional compensating spring ensured balanced handling of the saloon even at high speeds. The brake system with four turbo-cooled duplex drum brakes, whose drums were cast using the Alfin process for better heat dissipation, also corresponded to the production standard.
The 2.2-litre six-cylinder engine with intake manifold injection was the 220 SE's greatest asset – especially for competition use. Slightly short-stroked and equipped with an overhead camshaft, it was a guarantor for hefty power delivery over a wide rev range. The rally engines received a special camshaft and new exhaust manifolds in the Mercedes-Benz sports department – both measures that served to increase performance modestly. Nominally, the fuel-injected engine of the M 127 series provided a power output of 88 kW/120 hp at 4800 rpm and a peak torque of 186 Nm/19.3 mkg at 3900 rpm. Combined with the high mechanical strength and reliability of the power unit, this was enough to secure the 220 SE a leading role in rallying at the time.
The power transmission of the saloon, which weighed around 1400 kilograms ready to drive, was just as robust as the engine and therefore just as suitable for use in competition. The only change to the otherwise standard 4-speed gearbox was the conversion from a steering wheel gear shift to a centre shifter console, which was much better suited to the requirements of rally use.
Three 220 SE models excellently prepared in the Untertürkheim sports department came to the starting line during the ten-event season of the European Rally Championship 1960. They competed in eight of the ten rounds, including such renowned and demanding events as the Rally Monte-Carlo, the Tulip Rally, the Acropolis Rally and the RAC Rally. As in previous years, the duo Schock/Moll distinguished themselves as a top team in a 220 SE.
The traditional start of the season, the Rally Monte-Carlo held in January, already ended with a bang: Behind the winners Schock/Moll, two other teams, Böhringer/Socher and Mahle/Ott, took second and third place with their 220 SEs. The triumphant performance of Mercedes-Benz was completed by fifth place for the Dutch team Tak/Swaab, also in a 220 SE.
The "Fintail", especially in the hands of Walter Schock, also proved to be the dominant vehicle in the remaining rounds of the European Rally Championship season. In the end, in addition to two more overall victories and a class win for Schock and Moll, the team from Stuttgart squad finished second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively. In the final standings of the championship, these successes added up to the third European Championship title for Mercedes-Benz after 1955 and 1956 and the second for the Schock/Moll duo – sporting laurels whose radiance could not be compared with those of a Formula 1 or Sports Car World Championship, but which put the spotlight on the outstanding quality of Mercedes-Benz production cars in a particularly striking way.
Sensational successes were also achieved in the subsequent years: in 1961, double victories in the Algiers-Central Africa Rally and the East African Safari Rally, victories in the Acropolis Rally, the Poland Rally and the legendary Liège-Sofia-Liège in 1962, and thus victory in the European Rally Championship for Eugen Böhringer. In both years, the 220 SE also won the Argentine Touring Car Grand Prix – an endurance race over more than 4500 km on partly unpaved roads in South America. Mercedes-Benz continued its involvement in rallying in 1963 with the 300 SE, but the 220 SE still achieved remarkable successes in 1963 and 1964.