300 SL (W 194) - On 12th March 1952, Mercedes-Benz introduces the 300 SL (W 194) to be used in racing sports. Nobody expected Mercedes-Benz to launch such a sensational vehicle. The original concept of March 1950 provides for a shallow coupé with a platform frame and a six-cylinder engine taken from the 300 saloon. But Mercedes development engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut does not think highly of the heavy platform chassis. Along with his racing-inspired team, he designs an entirely new tubular space frame that is both light and torsion-resistant. In this way, the 300 Sport Leicht (Light) receives its abbreviation SL, its fantastic handling and the legendary wing doors. This alternative convinces the Daimler board, which orders the construction of the first vehicles for the summer of 1951, whereupon the ambitious Uhlenhaut team goes straight to work. Only nine months later, the first 300 SL is ready to go – a thoroughbred racing car with a completely new lightweight tube frame and aluminium body. Only ten copies will be built in total. Their turf is the race track – the Nürburgring or the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the first gullwing immediately starts chalking up victories. These successes encourage racing manager Alfred Neubauer to enter the legendary road races of the early 1950s. Here, too, the first SL easily takes the spotlight, such as at the Mille Miglia and in Mexico with the magnificent double victory at the Carrera Panamericana in November 1952.
- Archive number: 53769
- Caption: On 12th March 1952, Mercedes-Benz introduces the 300 SL (W 194) to be used in racing sports. Nobody expected Mercedes-Benz to launch such a sensational vehicle. The original concept of March 1950 provides for a shallow coupé with a platform frame and a six-cylinder engine taken from the 300 saloon. But Mercedes development engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut does not think highly of the heavy platform chassis. Along with his racing-inspired team, he designs an entirely new tubular space frame that is both light and torsion-resistant. In this way, the 300 Sport Leicht (Light) receives its abbreviation SL, its fantastic handling and the legendary wing doors. This alternative convinces the Daimler board, which orders the construction of the first vehicles for the summer of 1951, whereupon the ambitious Uhlenhaut team goes straight to work. Only nine months later, the first 300 SL is ready to go – a thoroughbred racing car with a completely new lightweight tube frame and aluminium body. Only ten copies will be built in total. Their turf is the race track – the Nürburgring or the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the first gullwing immediately starts chalking up victories. These successes encourage racing manager Alfred Neubauer to enter the legendary road races of the early 1950s. Here, too, the first SL easily takes the spotlight, such as at the Mille Miglia and in Mexico with the magnificent double victory at the Carrera Panamericana in November 1952.
- Info: Additional picture number: 53768
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