Tag Archives: Mercedes

1914 French GP Winner – Mercedes 18/100 #15364

For the first time regulations for the 1914 French Grand Prix mandated a maximum engine size of 4.5 litres / 274 cui which put a premium on engine efficiency not least because a minimum 1,100 kgs / 2425 lbs minimum weight limit was also mandated.

Only entries from factory supported teams were accepted and these came from Alda, Aquila Delage, Fiat, Nagant, Nazzaro, Opel, Peugeot, Pichard-Pictet, Schneider, Sunbeam, and Vauxhall with 37 entries in all.

Mercedes 18/100, Martin Viessmann, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Peugeot were the 1913 French Grand Prix winners and their 1914 Grand Prix challenger retained both an advanced overhead twin cam 16 valve engine design and brakes on all four wheels, while the slightly more crude Mercedes only had a single overhead cam engine and brakes acting only on the rear wheels.

Less than a week before the event news that Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been assassinated in Sarajevo was a strong omen that a major conflict was about to be set in motion that would see Russia, France and Britain align themselves against the forces of Germany and Austria.

Mercedes 18/100, Martin Viessmann, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Rookie driver Max Sailer, possibly through inexperience, went charging into the lead of the seven hour race in his Mercedes 18/100 and unwittingly dragged a proud and upset to be in second Georges Boillot into an unequal dual, it turned out that the vertically mounted spare tyres in the rear of the Peugeot L45 gave the car inferior handling to the Mercedes with it’s spare tyres mounted tilting slightly forward.

Nonetheless Sailer retired from the lead at one quarter of the race distance with a broken engine, leaving Boillot to lead for the next 12 laps despite having to make several pit stops for tyres compared to the one planned stop made by Christian Lautenschlager and his team mate Louis Wagner.

Mercedes 18/100, Martin Viessmann, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Despite plenty of pre event practice Christian Lautenschlager’s planned pit stop was unusually disorganised which left Louis Wagner to pursue Boillot’s Peugeot.

Wagner destroyed his second set of tyres in the pursuit of the Peugeot which had kept up a relentless pace to stay in the lead.

Mercedes 18/100, Martin Viessmann, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

By three quarter distance Wagner made an unscheduled stop for new tyres handing second place to Lautenschlager.

With two laps to go Boillot’s Peugeot engine had nothing left when Christian Lautenschlager driving today’s featured chassis #15364 silenced the French crowds by storming into the lead to be followed into second place by Louis Wagner and a third Mercedes driven by Otto Salzer.

Mercedes 18/100, Martin Viessmann, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

#15364 sent to Berlin where it was put on show immediately after the race and was sent to London for similar purposes only to arrive just in time for the start of the 1914/18 hostilities.

After the war Count Zborowski acquired #15364 and was the first of several owners to race it at Brooklands.

One owner had a Berliet body and front brakes fitted to the car which remained until it was restored to running order by Stanley Sears in the 1960’s, current owner Martin Viessmann, seen at the wheel in these photograph’s taken at Goodwood Festival of Speed, has been the custodian of #15364 since 1984.

Thanks for joining me on this “1914 French GP Winner” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

1922 Targa Entry – Mercedes 18/100

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The 1922 Targa Florio differed from the French Grand Prix and Italian Grand Prix run that year because entries were not restricted to the 2 litre / 122 cui mandated for the Grand Prix and as a resulted it attracted no less than seven Mercedes entries running with three different engine sizes.

With hindsight the significance of the 1922 Targa Florio is further enhanced because it also attracted entries from Alfa Romeo and Austro-Daimler Sascha which pitted drivers Enzo Ferrari and future Mercedes Benz racing manager Alfred Neubauer together for the first time.

Mercedes 18/100, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Of the seven Mercedes entered for the 268 mile race Christian Werner drove a normally aspirated 7.2-litre six-cylinder 28/95 Mercedes, Max Saile a supercharged version.

Two supercharged 1.5 litre / 91.5 cui cars were raced by Italian Ferdinando Minoia and Mercedes employee Paul Scheef, finally two works 1914 designed 18/100’s driven by 1908 and 1914 French Grand Prix winner Christian Lautenschlager, who drove today’s featured car and Otto Salzer were joined by the privately entered 18/100 painted red driven by Count Giulio Masetti.

Mercedes 18/100, Jochen Mass, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Today’s featured 18/100 appears to have been built new in 1919, with front brakes, using the 115hp 4 1/2 litre / 274 cui 4 four cylinder engine that had been fitted to the fifth 1914 Mercedes French Grand Prix entry driven by Belgian Theodore Pilette that retired in the first hour.

Despite losing the near front and rear wings / fenders of his #42 car Christian Lautenschlager finished the 1922 Targa Florio in 10th place behind the two 28/95’s that finished 6th and 8th driven by Max and Christian Werner respectively and the winning 18/100 driven by Count Giulio Masetti.

Mercedes 18/100, Jochen Mass, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Otto Salzer brought his 18/100 home in 13th place also sans near side fenders, ahead of the only 1.5 litre / 91.5 cui supercharged to finish that was driven by Paul Scheef into 20th place.

On their first competitive meeting Enzo had the advantage and drove 67 hp Alfa Romeo 20/30 ES to a 16th place finish ahead of Alfred in the 50hp Austro Daimer Sascha, but Alfred who finished 19th overall, unlike Enzo claimed a 1,100 / 67 cui class victory.

Mercedes 18/100, Jochen Mass, Goodwood Festival of Speed

1989 Le Mans winner Jochen Mass is seen at the wheel of the Christian Lautenschlager Targa 18/100 at Goodwood Festival of Speed in these photograph’s, note the car has been prepared to 1914 French Grand Prix spec with out front brakes.

Thanks for joining me on this “1922 Targa Entry” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at another Citroën that had a longer than expected development period. Don’t forget to come back now !

Check Tug Glance Dab – Mercedes 18/100 Spare

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The 1914 Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France, was to be run over 20 laps of a 23 mile road course around Lyon.

In preparation for the race Mercedes sent their engineer Louis Vischer with two of their 1914 18/100 Grand Prix challengers to check the suitability of the cars to the conditions.

Mercedes 18/100, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Today’s featured 18/100 is one of those cars built with a 4 1/2 litre / 274 cui 4 four cylinder engine with a conservative single cam shaft operating four valves per cylinder designed by Paul Daimler and Fritz Nalliger.

This engine could turn at a maximum 3,000 revolutions per minute, RPM, double that achieved by any previous Mercedes.

Mercedes 18/100, Goodwood Festival of Speed

As well as spurning twin cam shafts as successfully used by Peugeot to win the 1912 and 1913 Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France, Mercedes unlike Peugeot also relied on brakes operating only on the rear wheels to slow the 18/100 which weighed a minimum mandated 1,100 kgs / 2425 lbs.

Because of the length of the track the car carried two spare tyres and a jack in case of punctures while out on the circuit. Mercedes were the first team to ever employing a strategy of scheduling a mid race pit stop regardless of the conditions

Mercedes 18/100, Eddie Berrisford, Goodwood Festival of Speed

In 1914 Mercedes became the first team to ever employ a strategy of scheduling a mid race pit stop for all of it’s cars regardless of the condition of the tyres.

Note although this car was a team spare today it carries the #41 BIS as used on the fifth team car driven by Belgian Theodore Pilette who is reported as having started the 1914 Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France with an already broken four speed gearbox which lasted only the first hour of the seven hour race before failing completely.

Mercedes 18/100, Eddie Berrisford, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Today this car is part of the Collier Collection and is seen with the collections chief restorer Eddie Berrisford at the wheel at Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Highly esteemed motor sport historian Doug Nye noted in the July 2014 edition of MotorSport that when sitting alongside Eddie at an event held in Lyon to celebrate the centenary of Mercedes 1-2-3 victory in the 1914 ACF GP he had to check the fuel pressure was at least 1 kg/sq cm and if not tug at the fuel pump “like an exasperated Dutchman at a slot machine”, act as a living rear view mirror, as there of course there was none, by glancing over his shoulder, then give two dabs on a foot operated oil pump that lubricated the the cam shaft and top end of the engine and all while being dug in the ribs by Eddie’s left elbow and all while hanging on with his right arm clinging on to the seat ledge behind the driver.

After completing his pre race tests Louis Vischer recorded that ” … the prospect of victory is there, given a skilled handling of the car.”

Thanks for joining me on this Check, Tug, Glance, Dab, edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at another Citroén. Don’t forget to come back now !

Aero Engined Rennwagen – Mercedes 20.1

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Confusingly in 1913 there was a French Grand Prix run at Amiens where Mercedes were absent and a Grand Prix de France run at Le Mans where the Mercedes cars finished in 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th places.

Mercedes 20.1, VSCC, Loton Park,

To the best of my knowledge today’s featured car listed in event programmes as a Daimler Mercedes Rennwagen GP was not one of the 1913 Grand Prix de France team cars.

Mercedes 20.1, David Biggins, Chateau Impney

David Biggins’s car is shown in the same programmes to have been built in 1913 and I believe the 7,247 cc / 442 cui motor dates from 1914.

Mercedes 20.1, David Biggins, VSCC, Prescott

The six cylinder DF80 was originally designed for aircraft applications, but Paul Daimler had the idea of turning the engine back to front and installing it in the 28/95 model first seen in 1914.

Mercedes 20.1, David Biggins, VSCC, Loton Park,

After the 1914-18 hostilities Max Sailer won the 1921 Targa Florio with a 28/95 a model which remained in production until 1924.

Mercedes 20.1, VSCC, Loton Park,

If one enters the registration number LL4535 into this linked website one discovers that the car is officially registered a Mercedes 20.1.

Mercedes 20.1, David Biggins, VSCC, Loton Park,

Using the registration number and Mercedes 20.1 manufacturer name one discovers from the DVLA Vehicle Check site that the car or some part there of was first registered in the UK on 19th January 1921.

Mercedes 20.1, VSCC, Loton Park,

The detail shots of this car were taken at Loton Park while the most recent shot with David Biggins at the wheel was taken at Chateau Impney with the remainder taken at Prescott.

Thanks for joining me on this “Aero Engined Rennwagen” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a mid range Citroën. Don’t forget to come back now !

Minimum Weight Restricted Bore- 1908 Mercedes Grand Prix

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The very first Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France run at Le Mans in 1906 was run to a maximum weight of 1000 kgs / 2204 lbs and maxiumum fuel consumption formula which encouraged manufacturers to put large engines into flimsy chassis, the winning car was a 90hp 13 litre / 793 cui Renault with shaft drive to the rear wheels driven by Ferencsz Sziz.