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Mercedes W196 Streamliner

Based on the single seater open wheeled W196 these cars were pedalled by the much revered Fangio and less known Kling.  The launch in 1954 attracted a lot of attention, admiration and amazement.  It was born from Mercedes findings from wind tunnel testing.  They took an easy win in the 1954 French Grand Prix.  Silverstone later that year was a disappointment with the open wheeled cars having the advantage.  Fangio came in 4^th and Kling 7^th.  The streamline and bulky shaped cars were a wrong choice as visibility from the cockpit was restrictive and Silverstone demanded accuracy particularly through the tighter sections.  The fact that Fangio (who was a very pin point accurate driver) clouted marker barrels repeatedly much to his frustration outlined the shortcomings of the new design.  Other races that year led to the same conclusion with Nurburgring being the most prominent example.  The shape had fantastic aerodynamic and top speed benefits but the poor visibility and bulk let it down and led to its premature demise. 

The engine that graced this car was lifted unchanged from the open wheeled W196 and consisted of eight cylinders in a straight 8 configuration instead of a ‘v’. It was effectively two four cylinder engines joined together back to back with two camshafts (one for each set of four cylinders) that were driven by a central gear train set up.  A scratch built crankshaft kept all eight pistons moving and a unique desmodromic set up enabled the valves to cope with high revs (up to 9000rpm) without problems and fed fuel to the combustion chambers very efficiently.  This set up was all helped along by the Bosch fuel injection. The engine size was 2498cc and pushed out 290bhp, which enabled an 180mph top speed. The engine was put virtually on its side so that the bonnet could be as low as possible.  The gearbox was rear mounted.  Mercedes chose this engine route as they refused to copy the Italian opposition.  They have always pushed the boundaries of technology in a search for better and more sophisticated as well as more efficient and reliable racecars.  This package in the non-streamlined body shape proved a successful one and gave Ferrari and Maserati a new challenge.