Mercedes Benz 300SL W198 vintage model
The technology of the 300 SL was based in part on the W 186 Limousine II (Type 300). The six-cylinder engine was heavily modified, and received, among other things, instead of a carburetor fuel injection, at that time and long after a technical specialty. The engine had an output of 158 kW (215 hp). Thus, the W198 reached depending on the final drive is, up to 260 km / Five different translations were available. The series was a translation: 3.64 and voted on due to high acceleration. It enabled a top speed of 235 km / h. An even better acceleration offered the ratios 1: 3.89 and 1: 4.11. The ratio 1: 3.42 offered a higher top speed, with the third gear ratio of 1: 3.25 was increased again to 260 mph. This reduced, but the acceleration, so the car in city traffic was not as good to drive.Mercedes Benz 300SL W198.
Silver Mercedes Benz 300SL W198
Acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h 10 seconds were needed. Consumption determined contemporary test with an average of about 15 liters of gasoline. Mercedes Benz 300SL W198. At the rear, a 100-liter tank was located, at an additional cost there was a 130-liter version (Roadster only with 100-liter tank).
So that the engine in the flat car could ever be accommodated, he was inclined 45 degrees to the left (also a first in the series production). This location of the unit has reduced the footwell of the passenger something. Mercedes Benz 300SL W198. The center of gravity was almost exactly in the center of the vehicle
Retro Model Mercedes Benz 300SL W198
The chassis broadly in line with that of the sedan type 300a, voted but sporty. The first used drum brakes were designed for the sports car performance.Mercedes Benz 300SL W198. Only later, in 1961 as a roadster, the 300 SL has been fully equipped with disc brakes
Black Mercedes Benz 300SL W198
The original 300 SL, Mercedes-Benz sports car racing W194, won in 1952, unexpected results. In the previous year, when Daimler-Benz AG, the decision in 1952 to participate in this race and to build a sports car.Mercedes Benz 300SL W198. This was called the "300 Sport Light". In order to achieve sufficient power for race, had the engine of the existing sedan 300 (Adenauer) to be developed. Still equipped with carburetors, this contributed with 175 HP significantly less than the road version of 1954
White Mercedes Benz 300SL W198
In 1952 the vehicle was in the major races of the year, against much more powerful opponent. First time, the SL was in the Mille Miglia in early May showed speed and reliability achieved in this endurance race in second place. The price of Bern was the triple victory. Mercedes Benz 300SL W198. The 24-hour race at Le Mans finished the race car unexpectedly with a double victory. The winners were named Hermann Lang and Fritz Riess with an overall average of 155.575 km / h, a new record in the Le Mans history. Second was Theo Helfrich and Helmut Niedermayr. Mercedes Benz 300SL W198. A race at the Nurburgring also ended with a triple success. In the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico of the 300 SL with Karl Kling and Hans Klenk won again - in spite of a vulture that flew through the windshield. This makes Mercedes-Benz builds on the great successes in racing in front of the Second World War
Mercedes Benz 300SL W198
A series production of the 300 SL was not initially planned. But Maximilian ("Maxi") Hoffman, American importer of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, wanted by the board of Daimler-Benz for some time a sports car for its customers. A basis for this could be the racing sports coupe of 1952, which had surprisingly won the Carrera Panamericana and thus known in the U.S. was. AMercedes Benz 300SL W198. fter long consideration, the decision was for a series production of the 300 SL, W 198th Street Version In addition, the production of a small roadster, the Mercedes-Benz R121 (190 SL), announced
Mercedes Benz 300SL W198
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL roadster with hardtop 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing coupe than six months after the board decision, the two sports car debut at the International Motor Sports Show in New York, from 6 to 14 February 1954 took place. Mercedes-Benz at the motor show saw a tremendously positive response from visitors to the 300 SL and the 190 SL. The serial production began in August 1954 at the Sindelfingen plant
Classic model-Mercedes Benz 300SL W198
The price of the W 198 was set to 29,000 DM - an enormous sum at that time. A Mercedes 170 Vb cost 7900 DM (1953). Mercedes Benz 300SL W198. The 300 SL was in 1954 but not the most expensive car in the Mercedes program - the only 203 units built-W188 cost (with lower performance) 5.500 DM more