Tag Archives: 300

All Time Star – Mercedes Benz W198 300 SL

Firstly I will start with an apology for not being able to keep “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” going as a daily blog, unfortunately activities that are fun are rarely financially viable and in order to maintain some financial liquidity I took a job back in October.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL, Goodwood Festival of Speed

While I love the job, driving an ambulance for the transplant services and it is not particularly demanding of my time, it is all hours which means my body clock rarely knows if it is day or night, so for the foreseeable future the blog will carry on as and when.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Today’s featured Fire Department Red Mercedes Benz 300 SL Roadster was first registered in January 1962.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The car has covered just 75kms since it’s restoration and is now offered for sale by All Time Stars.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL, Goodwood Festival of Speed

All Time Stars is a commercial arm of the official Mercedes Benz museum in Stuttgart that offers classic Mercedes Benz models for sale.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL, Goodwood Festival of Speed

After a 160 point check the vehicles offered are divided into Drovers, Collectors and Concours categories, the 300 SL seen here at Goodwood Festival of Speed was being offered for €1.9 million, but has yet to appear on the All Time Stars website.

Thanks for joining me on toady’s edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me next time when I’ll be looking at a Delage. Don’t forget to come back now !

Figlio Del Vento – Mercedes Benz W198 300 SL Coupé #198 040 65 00279

Aged 18 John Surtees finished 6th aboard his Norton 500 on his debut in Grand Prix Motor cycle racing at the 1952 Ulster Grand Prix.

In 1955 John won his first and only 250 cc Grand Prix aboard an NSU at Ulster which helped secure a ride with MV Agusta with whom he would remain for the rest of his motorcycle racing career up until the end of 1960.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL Coupé, Edenbridge Fun Day,

Now focusing on the 350 and 500 classes John won his first World Championship in the 500 class in 1956, the year in which today’s featured Mercedes Benz 300 SL Coupé was built, with three wins from three starts.

1957 was not such a good year for the partnership netting just a single win in the 500cc Dutch Grand Prix, but they bounced back in 1958 and 1959 by sweeping all the Grand Prix races in 350cc and 500cc classes to give John 25 Grand Prix wins and four World Championship titles.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL Coupé, Edenbridge Fun Day,

In the final year of their partnership John, who by now was known as “figlio del vento” son of the wind, won two 350 cc Grand Prix and 5 500 cc Grand Prix to secure two more World Championship titles and became the first man to win the Senior Isle of Man TT three times in a row.

MV Agusta were reluctant to supply bikes for John to race in UK, when not Grand Prix racing, so he became involved with racing on four wheels making his debut in Formula Junior and then quickly progressing to Formula One making four Grand Prix appearances with team Lotus in 1960 that culminated with a second place finish behind Jack Brabham in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL Coupé, Edenbridge Fun Day,

With seven World Championships to his credit on two wheels John switched all of his attention to racing on four wheels from 1961 electing to decline an offer to be Jim Clark’s number two at Lotus in favour of a two year spell with Reg Parnell’s Yeomam Credit team which ran Climax powered Cooper T53’s in 1961 and Lola Mk4’s in 1962.

Two second places in Britain and Germany and 4th in the final Championship standings with the Lola aroused the attention of Enzo Ferrari who signed John for the 1963 season.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL Coupé, Edenbridge Fun Day,

John finished the 1963 season 4th in championship again, but this time with his first Grand Prix win on four wheels at the German Grand Prix.

In 1964 with the Ferrari 158 the team were resurgent with wins in Germany and Italy backed up by second place finishes in Holland, the USA and Mexico were enough for John to become the first and so far only man to win World Championships of two wheels and four.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL Coupé, Edenbridge Fun Day,

Lotus and BRM gained the upper hand again in 1965 when John finished the Championship in fifth behind Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart and Brabham driver Dan Gurney.

Ferrari looked to be best prepared for the start of the 3-Litre era of Formula One and a win in Belgium looked to confirm John as the most likely candidate to win the title, but then a disagreement with Ferrari management at Le Mans saw John walk away from Marranello and into one of the only other 3 litre cars available the Cooper Maserati T81.

Over the remainder of the season John finished 2nd in Germany, 3rd in the USA and first in Mexico, finishing second in the Championship to Jack Brabham who became the first and so far only driver to win the World Formula One Championship in a car bearing his own name.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL Coupé, Edenbridge Fun Day,

During the second half of 1966 John drove a works supported Lola T70 in the Can Am Championship and became it’s inaugural champion with 3 race wins.

In 1967 started a two year spell with Honda in Formula One that brought John’s final Championship Formula One win at the 1967 Italian Grand Prix after John had introduced Lola’s Eric Broadley designed chassis to the team.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL Coupé, Edenbridge Fun Day,

John spent one year at BRM, with whom he finished a best third in the USA, in 1969 before turning the Surtees Racing Organisation, SRO, in Edenbridge in to a constructor of racing cars that in Formula 2, Formula 5000 and Formula One.

Fellow motor cycle world champion Mike Hailwood won the 1972 European Formula 2 Championship driving a Surtees TS10 in 1972, the same year that Gijs van Lennep drove a Surtees TS 11 in all but one round of the 1972 Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship which he won.

The Championship highlight of the SRO challenge in Formula One, which lasted until 1978, was Mike Hailwood’s 2nd place finish in the 1972 Italian Grand Prix the year the team finished it’s all time high 5th in the constructors championship.

John also won the non Championship Gold Cup at Oulton Park driving a TS7 in 1970 and a TS9 in 1971, the following season the debut of the TS14 at Monza would be his final Grand Prix start before retiring, though he added a further Gold Cup win in 1981, when the race was run for historic cars, driving a Maserati 250F.

Today’s featured 1956 Mercedes Benz 300 SL Coupé # 198 040 65 00279, originally sold to a customer in the USA, was bought by John in the early 1990’s and registered in the UK on the 23rd of June 1992, he kept it until 2008.

The car, seen at a recent Edenbridge Fun Day, was bought by it’s current owner at the Coy’s Techno Classica 2011 Auction for just north of half a million dollars.

Thanks for joining me on this “Figlio Del Vento” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Huntingdon’s Fund Raiser – Mercedes Benz (W198) 300SL Gullwing Coupé

Today’s featured Mercedes Benz 300 SL is a regular on the award winning Mercedes Benz stand at The Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Last year the owner of this 1961 Gullwing Coupé, that was first registered in the UK on the first of May 2002, allowed visitors to the Classic Motor Show to sit in the car in exchange for a donation to the Huntingdon’s Disease Association and raised £460.

During the event the interior leather suffered some accidental damage which was kindly repaired gratis by another exhibitor Jason Payne from the Leather Repair Company in Knaresborough.

Thanks for joining me on this “Huntingdon’s Fund Raiser” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a 1924 Delage. Don’t forget to coma back now !

Der Adenauer Daimler – Mercedes-Benz (W186 II) 300 Cabriolet D #02905/52

When Mercedes Benz revived production of automobiles after WW2 it started manufacturing four cylinder vehicles that were a development of the pre war W136 and W153 models which evolved into the short lived W191 in 1952.

The first all new post war Mercedes Benz models were the six cylinder W186 and W187 models launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1951.

Mercedes-Benz (W186 II) Typ 300, Quail Lodge, California,

The larger W186 Typ 300 was powered by a 3 litre / 183 cui overhead cam straight six engine with an iron block and an aluminium head that produced 113hp.

Drawing on pre war racing practice the Typ 300 chassis used ovoid tubes with double wishbone independent front suspension and swing axle independent rear suspension.

Mercedes-Benz (W186 II) Typ 300, Quail Lodge, California,

Germany’s first post war Chancellor Konrad Adenauer used the Typ 300 exclusively during his period of office which ended in 1963 and unofficially lent his name to the model.

He famously loaded one into a Lufthansa aeroplane for his 1955 visit to Moscow which ended in the establishment of full diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and the release of the last 10,000 German prisoners of war.

Mercedes-Benz (W186 II) Typ 300, Quail Lodge, California,

Today’s featured 300 Cabriolet D left the production line on New Years Eve 1952 complete with high end option Becker Nurburg III valve radio and shipped to New York importer Max Hoffman.

The cars first owner was Mr. Franklin Eli of Buffalo, New York who drove the car over 60,000 miles before putting it in storage in 1969, upon his death in 1999 the car passed to his nephew who began what turned out to be a 12 year restoration.

Mercedes-Benz (W186 II) Typ 300, Quail Lodge, California,

The cars third owner completed the Concours winning restoration in 2012 and the following year offered it at Bonhams Quail auction with an estimated $275,000 – $325,000 price tag.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photographs taken at the Bonhams Quail Auction.

Thanks for joining me on this “Der Adenauer Daimler” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I will be looking at a Delage. Don’t for get to come back now !

Heart Breaker – Mercedes Benz W121 B2 190 SL Roadster

When Mercedes Benz US importer Max Hoffman suggested that Mercedes Benz build the 300 SL Gullwing Coupé for an exclusive US clientele in 1953 he also suggested they build a more affordable Roadster which became the 190 SL Roadster like the one seen here at the Classic Motor Show at the NEC in Birmingham a few years ago.

Mercedes Benz 190 SL Roadster, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The 190 SL was built on a modified W121 Saloon platform unlike the 300 SL which had a space frame chassis, but used similar double wishbone front and swing axle rear independent suspension.

Power came from a short stroke 1897 cc / 115.7 cui 4 cylinder variant of the 300 SL’s 3 litre / 183 cui over head cam six cylinder engine that produced 120 hp.

Production of the 190 SL commenced in 1955 and continued until 1963 by which time 25,881 examples had been built.

Renowned for melting the hearts of the proudest women the 190 SL included amongst it’s star studded clientele Grace Kelly, Gina Lollobrigida and Bibi Johns.

Thanks for joining me on this “Heart Breaker” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

D Modified – Mercedes Benz 300 SLS Replica

After 2 successful seasons winning two SCCA Class D Production (DP) championships the Mercedes Benz supplied team of George D Tilp and driver Paul O’Shea were hoping to make it a threepeat even though they were planning on swapping from the 300 SL Gullwing to the new for ’57 300 SL Roadster model.

Mercedes Benz 300 SLS, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

However the SCCA would not mandate running the 300SL Roadster in the DP class in 1957 on the grounds that insufficient numbers of the Roadster had been built.

Mercedes Benz 300 SLS, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

To get around this problem the Mercedes Benz Rennabteilung built two special lightweight SLS Roadsters for George Tilp to run in the SCCA class D modified for Paul O’Shea.

Mercedes Benz 300 SLS, Dario Franchitti, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

Despite sending George Tilp two cars, two Mercedes Benz race mechanics, Erwin Strupp and Karl Bunz with a container load of spares, the plan was to run only one car to give the operation the semblance of a privateer effort, however after Paul crashed one car at Thompson Connecticut and turned up six days later with an apparently completely repaired car at Elkhart Lake in Wisconsin the cat was out of the bag that George Tilp had two cars at his disposal for Paul.

Mercedes Benz 300 SLS, Dario Franchitti, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

Paul went on to threepeat his and Mercedes Benz third SCCA class championship and the two SLS Roadsters were returned to the Mercedes Benz factory where they were scrapped, allegedly over fears the lightweight bodies would deteriorate.

Mercedes Benz 300 SLS, Dario Franchitti, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

Subsequently numerous SLS variations have appeared most notably Chuck Porter built and raced one very successfully, where the second S stood for scrap, from a burned out Gullwing that closely resembled the 1955 300 SLR’s, several roadsters have also been converted to Tilp / O’Shea SLS replica’s more recently using 300 SL Roadster donor cars, including one by Kienle Automobiltechnik, in Heimerdingen, Germany.

Today’s featured replica seen at Goodwood Festival of Speed with Indy Legend Dario Franchitti at the wheel, was converted to SLS spec by Mercedes Benz who used one of their former test 300 SL Roadsters as a starting point.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for information on his Uncle George Tilp’s racing team.

Thanks for joining me on this “D Modified” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a triumph of presence over elegance. Don’t for get to come back now !

Rudge Wheel Roadster – Mercedes Benz (W198) 300 SL

In 1955 Mercedes Benz introduced it’s 300 SL Gullwing Coupé, at the behest of their American agent Max Hoffman, and over the next 2 years built 1400 examples.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL, Danville Concours d'Elegace

For reasons that are not entirely clear to me Mercedes Benz did not introduce the almost mechanically identical roadster version until 1957.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL, Danville Concours d'Elegace

The major difference between the two models is that the space frame required lower sills than the gull wing to permit front hinged doors.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL, Danville Concours d'Elegace

The fuel tank and rear axle were also redesigned which allowed the spare wheel to be taken out of the boot /trunk and mounted beneath the floor panel.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL, Danville Concours d'Elegace

With the space between the boot / trunk lid freed up Mercedes offered it’s customers bespoke suitcases to fill the space up, as there was no storage in the cabin area as there had been in the Coupé.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL, Danville Concours d'Elegace

From 1957 to 1963 1,858 Roadsters were built, the example seen here has been in the same family since it was purchased from the used lot of a Chevrolet dealer in 1965.

It is one of less than 50 Roadsters, all built in 1957, to be documented as supplied with Rudge Wheels from the factory.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photographs, taken a couple of years ago at Danville Concours d’Elegance.

Thanks for joining me on this “Rudge Wheel Roadster” Edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !