Mercedes-Benz W196
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naturally aspirated | |||||||||||
Tyres | Continental | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Competition history | |||||||||||
Notable entrants | Daimler Benz AG | ||||||||||
Notable drivers | Juan Manuel Fangio Stirling Moss Hans Herrmann Karl Kling | ||||||||||
Debut | 1954 French Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
Drivers' Championships | 2 (1954, 1955) |
The Mercedes-Benz W196 (sometimes written as the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R
Firsts included the use of
The 3-litre
Types
Monza
The W196's delayed debut at the 1954 French Grand Prix saw the introduction of the aerodynamic closed-wheel aluminium "Type Monza" streamliner body for the high speed track at Reims. Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling claimed a 1–2 finish, and Hans Herrmann posted the fastest lap. The same body was later used only three more times: in the 1954 season at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where it picked up its nickname, and in the 1955 season again at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. In total the "Type Monza" won three races (the 1954 French Grand Prix, 1954 and 1955 Italian Grand Prix), all with Fangio at the wheel.[2] These three Grands Prix have remained the only races won by a closed-wheel car in Formula One history.
Open wheel
Attractive as the Monza was, its streamlined body was really only suited to high-speed tracks made up of straights and slow corners, leading to defeat at its second race, the
At the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, the last race of the 1954 season the low-mounted Mercedes air-intake clogged with leaves, costing the race to Mike Hawthorn in a Ferrari, and leading to the intake's relocation atop the hood.
In the shortened 1955 Formula One season, abbreviated after the Le Mans disaster, the W196 won every race except the Monaco Grand Prix, where Hans Herrmann crashed in practice and the other three team Mercedes cars failed to finish. A highlight for driver Stirling Moss was his finish 0.2 seconds ahead of stable mate Fangio at his home event, the British Grand Prix, his first GP win, a race where Mercedes romped home with a 1–2–3–4 finish.
After capturing the two world championships it competed in, Mercedes withdrew from motorsport at the end of the 1955 season. Despite its strong reliability and good track performance, drivers Fangio and Moss described the car in MotorSport magazine as being "a bit difficult to drive, with a tendency for snap oversteer". Moss also later said that "I'm surprised that the Merc wasn't a little bit easier to drive, because it wasn't. It was a driver's car, but not an easy car to drive."[3] Fangio shared similar feelings, also saying in MotorSport Magazine in 1979 that the car was "not so nice to drive as a Maserati 250F, but you were almost sure to finish. So the Mercedes was incredible in that way."[4] 1970s/80s Formula One driver John Watson drove the W196 at Hockenheim, providing some insight as to why the car was difficult to drive. He said that "if you gave this car wider and grippier tyres and altered the suspension to suit, then the handling would be of a very high order indeed." The W196 was so advanced and ahead of its time, that the narrow tyres available at the time simply could not fully handle the car's exceptional performance and potential.[5]
Engine
The new 1954 Formula One rules allowed a choice of naturally aspirated engines – up to 2.5 litres or 0.75 litres
Mercedes' 1939 2-stage supercharged 1.5-litre, bore/stroke: 64 mm (2.5 in) × 58 mm (2.3 in) V8 (1,493 cc or 91.1 cu in) gave 278 bhp (207 kW) at 8,250 rpm with about 2.7 atm (270 kPa) pressure. Halving this would have only produced 139 bhp (104 kW).
Studies by Mercedes showed that 390 bhp (290 kW) at 10,000 rpm could be achieved from 0.75 litres with a supercharger pressure of 4.4 atm (450 kPa), with 100 hp (75 kW) required to drive the supercharger. Fuel consumption of this 290 bhp (220 kW) net engine would have been 2.3 times higher than a naturally aspirated one developing the same power. Since 115 bhp/L (86 kW/L) at 9,000 rpm was being developed by naturally aspirated motorcycle racing engines, it was decided that a 2.5-litre engine was the correct choice. This was a significant change of philosophy, since all previous Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix engines since the 1920s had been supercharged. Mercedes' solution was to adapt direct fuel injection Daimler-Benz engineers had refined on the DB 601 high-performance V12 used on the Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighter.
By its introduction at the 1954 French GP the 2,496.87 cc (152.368 cu in) bore/stroke: 76 mm (3.0 in) × 68.8 mm (2.71 in)
Chassis and suspension
The W196 was front mid-engined, with its long longitudinally mounted engine placed just behind the front axles instead of over them to better balance front/rear weight distribution. A welded aluminum tube
To enhance stopping power extra wide diameter
W196S
The
The W196's
W196R sale
The auction house Bonhams – in its Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale on 12 July 2013 – sold Mercedes-Benz W196R Chassis no. 196 010 00006/54 for a new World Record £19.7-million Sterling ($29.6 million, incl. auction premium).[6] The total bill, including UK VAT on commission charged, came to £20,896,800.00 Sterling.[7] This high price was achieved in recognition of the fact that Chassis no. 196 010 00006/54 is the only example of the model available in private hands – all its surviving sisters being in original manufacturer or institutional Museum hands. This particular car is also the most successful of all surviving W196R cars – being the individual driven by Juan Manuel Fangio to win the 1954 German & European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, and then adding a second consecutive victory in the 1954 Swiss GP at Berne's Bremgarten circuit. With that second race win, added to his early-season victories in the Argentine and Belgian GPs in a Maserati 250F, Fangio clinched the second of his ultimately five Formula 1 Drivers' World Championship titles.
Technical data
Technical data | W196 R | W196 S |
---|---|---|
Engine: | Front mounted 8-cylinder in-line engine
| |
Displacement: | 2496 cm³ | 2983 cm³ |
Bore x stroke: | 76 x 68.8 mm | 78 x 78 mm |
Max power at rpm: | 257 hp at 8 250 rpm | 300 hp at 7 500 rpm |
Max torque at rpm: | 247 Nm at 6 300 rpm | 295 Nm at 5 950 rpm |
Valve control: | 2 overhead camshafts, 2 forced-controlled valves per cylinder | |
Compression : |
9:1 | |
Gearbox : |
5-speed manual, transaxle | |
suspension front: | Double wishbones, longitudinal torsion bar, hydraulic shock absorber
| |
suspension rear: | Single-link pendulum axle, longitudinal shock absorbers
| |
Brakes: | Hydraulic drum brakes | |
body : |
Fackverksframe with aluminum body | |
Wheelbase: | 215–235 cm | |
Dry weight : |
About 700 kg | |
Top speed: | 290 km/h | 290 km/h |
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1954 | Daimler Benz AG | L8
|
C | ARG | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | SUI | ITA | ESP | |
Juan Manuel Fangio | 12 | 42 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 | |||||||
Karl Kling | 22 | 72 | 4 | Ret | Ret2 | 5 | |||||||
Hans Herrmann | Ret2 | Ret2 | 3 | 42 | Ret | ||||||||
Hermann Lang | Ret | ||||||||||||
1955 | Daimler Benz AG | L8
|
C | ARG | MON | 500 | BEL | NED | GBR | ITA | |||
Juan Manuel Fangio | 1 | Ret | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | |||||||
Karl Kling | 41 | Ret | Ret | 3 | Ret | ||||||||
Hans Herrmann | 41 | DNQ | |||||||||||
Stirling Moss | 41 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Ret2 | |||||||
André Simon | Ret | ||||||||||||
Piero Taruffi | 4 | 2 |
^1 Indicates shared drive.
^2 Indicates streamlined version used.
See also
References
Notes
- ^ "Mercedes-Benz W 196 R 2.5-liter streamlined racing car". Mercedes-Benz. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ "Mercedes-Benz W196 Streamliner – Images, Specifications and Information". Ultimatecarpage.com. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
- YouTube
- ^ Foster, Ed (8 August 2012). "The morning I met the maestro". Motor Sport. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- YouTube
- ^ "1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Formula 1 Racing Single-Seater". Bonhams. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ "Fangio's rare F1 Mercedes sells for £17.5m". BBC News. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
Bibliography
- Ackerson, Robert (2015). Two Summers: The Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Racing Car. Dorchester, Dorset, UK: Veloce Publishing. ISBN 9781845847517.
- ISBN 9781583882504.
- Nixon, Chris (1999). Rivals: Lancia D50 & Mercedes-Benz W196. Isleworth, Middlesex, UK: Transport Bookman Publications. ISBN 0851840590.
- Riedner, Michael (1990). Mercedes-Benz W196: Last of the Silver Arrows. Foulis Motoring Book series. Sparkford, Somerset, UK: Haynes Publishing. ISBN 0854297170.
- Sugahara, Louis (2004). Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Race Cars 1934–1955. Fredericksburg, TX, USA: Mercedes-Benz Classique Car Library. ISBN 1933123001.