Mercedes 300SLR Classic Sports Car

Mercedes 300SLR (1955)

Stirling Moss and 'Jenks' in the 300SLR on the Mille Miglia

Despite the name this bore no relation to either Gullwing or the earlier racecar. It was essentially the 1954 Mercedes W196 Grand Prix car, its straight-eight engine enlarged from 2.5 to three litres and covered with a two-seater roadster body. It was in this form that a 300SLR won what is perhaps still the most famous race victory of all time. With a young British racing driver named Stirling Moss at the wheel, directed by co-driver Denis ‘Jenks’ Jenkinson, the 300SLR destroyed the opposition in the 1955 Mille Miglia, a non-stop 1000 mile race on public roads in Italy. Moss won the event at a scarcely credible average speed of 97.96mph. The 300SLR was withdrawn from competition when one crashed into spectators at Le Mans in 1955, killing 82 spectators. The shock of this horror stunned Mercedes, and it withdrew from racing, not to return until 1987.

Mercedes C111 Classic Sports Car

Mercedes C111 (1969) record breaker

The C111 was a rare example of Mercedes letting its hair down and testing out some wild ideas. The original 1969 model used a mid-mounted three rotor Wankel rotary engine in an incredibly streamlined fibreglass body that produced a drag co-efficient of just 0.191. Of course being a Mercedes it featured a leather trimmed, air-conditioned cabin and gullwing doors made a welcome return. The following year it reappeared with a four-rotor, 350bhp Wankel engine and was reportedly capable of 180mph. Mercedes decided against rotary technology and the third iteration of the C111 used a 230bhp straight-five turbodiesel. With it Mercedes beat numerous diesel records, achieving 200mph at the Nardo high-speed bowl in Italy in 1978. Mercedes revived the name in 1991 for a road going supercar, the C112 but after taking 700 orders decided to kill the project.