Such an idea could not have been thought of by someone who is not obsessed with perfection, nor could s/he have had seen it to completion, unlike at Mercedes Benz. Develop a transporter to convey a racing car to different events in Europe, and make it in to the best transporter the world has ever laid their eyes on. But what could possibly possess the company to invest vaults of money and countless hours in the design and construction of such a one off commercial carrier? Would not have any large van have fitted the bill?
The story of creating the transporter has the elements of dignity, perseverance, and practicality. Mercedes Benz had been in the midst of a severe competition with other German teams in the racing scene before World War I.
However, when Mercedes cam out with the V12 driven W-154, it won 12 of the 17 events up to the war, and staked the number one slot. It was not until 1954 that Mercedes actually returned to Grand Prix racing, with a decision taken by the management in 1952.
The truck was thus designed by Mercedes to be special only for its W-196, a fresh new racing model that was to be driven by a famous Argentine racer. The haulier had to be such that it could be easily recognized on the road as being made by Benz and also it had to be really unique. It had to be the fastest of its kind, as well as one of the fastest on the Western European highways.
If you are one of the initial teams to reach the tracks you automatically got more time to train and plan out your strategies. This even meant that any damaged racer could be sent to the plants if needed and then brought back to the tracks in time.
From a technical viewpoint, the carrier had the best of what Mercedes could rally. Its frame was inspired by the X-shaped one of the 300 S, while the 3.0 liter, 6-cylinder engine, and the four speed manual transmission reminded you of the ones in the 300 SL series.
The hydraulic brakes on the four wheel were power-assisted in addition.
But the most amazing part was the body work on the transporter. Most of the steel panels used were derived forms of other panels that were in vogue in those days.
The company's 180 S model served as the outline for the doors, the windshield, as well as the interior fixtures of the carrier. The racing car, along with all its equipment and tools, as well as two spare tires and a loading ramp were carried by it easily.
The front axle was kept unnaturally far behind the single cab, which in turn was placed too low, but the result was that the look was one that was uniquely Mercedes. It had a factory blue paint that just made it all the more popular. It was a truck that, despite a fully loaded weight of about 6,600 pounds, was capable of more than 100 mph, fast even by today's standards.
Hitting the roads sometime in mid-1954, the transporter was an instantaneous hit at the race tracks of Europe, and the U.S.as well.
Actually, it was the case that the transporter drew more attention than the racers it carried. When, in the 1955 French 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, a privately owned Mercedes Benz 300 SLR killed 80 people while crashing, Mercedes Benz stepped back from public racing entirely. Before the year was over, the complete racing division was retired and this included the transporter as well.
Initially, there was an idea that the transporter and its cargo should be kept in the company's own museum, but the weight turned out to be more than the floors could handle, and so this idea got done away with. After receiving numerous letters and appeals, Mercedes Benz chose to start work on a replica of it in 1993.
With the aid of an outside fabricator, a few plans, and photographs, the company finished their work in 2000. A small but splendid facet in the racing car history had been re-established in its rightful place.
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