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Inveneo is proud to be an implementing partner with Creative Associates in the Tanzania 21st Century Basic Education Program (Tz21) where our role is to lead the technology intervention design and deployment with Kicheko Ltd, our Inveneo Certified ICT Partner (ICIP) in Tanzania. Together, Inveneo and Kicheko have been instrumental in introducing sustainable technology solutions that are relevant to rural Tanzanian schools that often lack electrical power and ICT skilled staff.
Recently we passed a major milestone in the program - the deployment of information and communication technologies to 5 pilot schools.
Dr. H.E. Kavishe of Kicheko, Wayan Vota and Jen Overgaag of Inveneo, assisted by a cadre of Kicheko technicians, installed a mix of laptops, desktops, LED projectors and related networking and power equipment at Naliendele, Kambarage, Darajani, and Kisiwandui Primary Schools, and Machakaeni Teacher Center.
The pilot deployment is testing technology configurations and the installation was used to train local engineers on Inveneo installation methodologies in preparation for the major ICT deployment to all schools, scheduled for early 2012.
Read more on the Inveneo newsfeed.
How to check what services are enabled on boot in Linux
If you would like to use this photo, be sure to place a proper attribution linking to xmodulo.com
From www.collingsfoundation.org:
The B-17G (Serial # 44-83575) has been returned to its wartime configuration under the auspices of the nonprofit Collings Foundation of Stow, MA and given the name "Nine-O-Nine".
The Collings Flying Fortress was built at Long Beach, CA by the Douglas Aircraft Company and accepted on April 7, 1945. Although she was too late for combat, #44-83575 did serve as part of the Air/Sea 1st Rescue Squadron and later in the Military Air Transport Service.
In April 1952, #44-83575 was instrumented and subjected to the effects of three different nuclear explosions. After a thirteen-year "cool down" period, #44-83575 was sold as part of an 800-ton scrap pile and Aircraft Specialties Company began the restoration of the aircraft.
Damaged skin was fabricated and replaced on site; engines and props were stripped, cleaned, repaired, and tested; four thousand feet of new control cable was installed; all electrical wiring and instrumentation was replaced. As she neared completion, the jeers and laughter of those who said she would never fly again faded as the sounds of four 1200 HP Wright-Cyclone engines echoed across the desert and "Yucca Lady" rose as the phoenix and climbed into the sky.
For twenty years, without a major problem or incident, #44-83575 served as a fire bomber dropping water and borate on forest fires. She was sold in January 1986 to the Collings Foundation. Restored back to her original wartime configuration by Tom Reilly Vintage Aircraft, she represented one of the finest B-17 restorations and won several awards.
The Collings Foundation B-17 was named "Nine-O-Nine" in honor of a 91st Bomb Group, 323rd Squadron plane of the same name which completed 140 missions without an abort or loss of a crewman.
Three monitor configuration I'm using to help me continue functioning while wait to afford cataract surgery and the lenses. My left eye (I just discovered) is now uncorrectable by any glasses. Just in the last 7 days it went from having some vision to now being a cloud at all distances.
As you can see the monitor on the left is in portrait mode (19 inches @ 1024x1280). The other two are landscape (30 inches @ 2560x1600 and 24 inches @ 1920x1080).
More details are at ether:
ac9dfe7fd.livejournal.com/70043.html
or
The Galley is the second of five possible internal configurations for Planetary Outpost. The main room has a table and the latest in digital virtual entertainment, while the smaller room houses the main food processing unit and storage areas.
FOOD is so large it barely fits in its allocated place, but then again, being able to replicate nutrients for the crew away from home for months, even years at a time, should be of greatest import to the success of any mission.
The Galley is also peppered with monitoring screens because no matter where they are, the crew of Planetary Outpost are never truly off duty.
If you like what you see, do add your support to my LEGO Ideas project: ideas.lego.com/projects/b0827dea-3bd0-46b2-a733-e2e380fa1794
1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 Streamliner 'Monza'
This car was displayed here as a teaser for its planned auction in January 2025 in Stuttgart. As of this post (2025.07.24) this is the highest priced 2025 sale (€51,155,000 EUR). Scroll to (2) for auction info.
Serendipitously, a 1955 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Formula 1 Race Car, which is the same car design but with an open-wheeled body configuration, was shown later in the week at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. It's fun to note the same cockpit (mirrors, windscreen, steering wheel, seat) and right-side hood vent.
(1) The following is from an article in www.octane-magazine.com (link goes to the article which includes nice photos of the car's engine and cockpit):
$50 to 70m Mercedes-Benz W196 Streamliner heading to auction
Matthew Hayward ~ Friday 16th August 2024
RM Sotheby's has partnered with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum to bring 11 highly significant cars to auction, headlined by the 1954 Mercedes W196 Streamliner, raced by legends Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss in period.
Why the sale? Although the IMS Museum has thousands of unique and historic racing artefacts, not everything aligns with the Museum's mission. In an effort to not only raise important funding for the future of the museum, but refocus the museum to better reflect its goal of celebrating the history of this iconic motor circuit, it has decided to sell the last of the vehicles in its collection not directly connected to the Indianapolis 500 or Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"Our Stories Behind the Spectacle capital campaign is helping to fund the complete reimagining of the IMS Museum, from new structural and state-of-the-art technology installations to interactive exhibits and experiences. The deaccession and sale of these artefacts are earmarked specifically to help us create a more robust endowment to be used for caring for our collection, ensuring our long-term financial viability and position as an internationally recognised cultural institution for years to come." - Joe Hale, President, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
This W196 holds the unique distinction of being driven by two of motor racing's best drivers, Juan Manuel Fangio and Sir Stirling Moss. Originally featuring an open-wheel body, Fangio would pilot this car in a non-points race in Buenos Aires in 1954. Later on, this chassis would receive the iconic streamlined body work and was then driven by Moss at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
At the race Moss would achieve the fastest lap earning him one point in the World Drivers' Championship that year. Mercedes-Benz subsequently used the car as a practice and test car. This Mercedes-Benz was donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in 1965 directly from the factory, and is estimated to sell for $50,000,000–70,000,000.
(2) From RM Sotheby's Fall Catalog Detailing this Car for its Auction in Stuttgart, Germany
Do visit the RM Sotheby's link for this car while it lasts, which is typically some years, to see fantastic present and historic photos of the car.
1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen
€51,155,000 EUR | Sold
o Offered from the Collection of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
o The first Streamliner-bodied W 196 R ever offered for private ownership
o One of four known complete examples mounted with the exquisite factory-built enclosed-fender Stromlinienwagen coachwork at the conclusion of the 1955 Formula One season
o Driven by future five-time Drivers' Champion Juan Manuel Fangio to victory at the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix
o Piloted by celebrated driver Sir Stirling Moss at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, achieving fastest lap; presented today with that streamlined bodywork
o Donated in 1965 by Mercedes-Benz to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Museum, and now offered from 59 years of fastidious care by the IMS Museum
SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND
When evaluating the merits of a so-called legendary racing car, it is imperative to assess it from every angle. Design considerations, engineering provenance, competition pedigree, races won, and drivers utilized all factor in. How successfully did it meet its design brief, and how enduring was its competition success? What was its post-racing life and its private ownership provenance, and what is its current quality? Finally, and not least of all, is the dynamism of its overall presence.
In effect, the halo collectible racing car is like a diamond. To be considered of optimal quality, every facet of the car's unique cut must emit a brilliance that leaves one speechless.
All of which informs our understanding of the current offering, the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen, chassis number 00009/54. Rarely has a racing car emanated brilliance on so many levels. Yet, like any great car, the story of chassis number 00009/54 is not just that of a machine but one of men—and a more compelling group of racing luminaries would be nearly impossible to match. A London-born German engineer with a process so uniquely exacting it seems torn from the pages of a novel; an Argentinian racing veteran nearing the peak of his driving supremacy and worldwide celebrity; a young British driver of no less skill who would one day be knighted by the future King of England; and an American businessman raised to sell food who invested in Gasoline Alley and bought a ticket to immortality on the Brickyard.
Rudolf Uhlenhaut—Juan Manuel Fangio—Stirling Moss—Tony Hulman. These four men form the arc of this W 196 R's story, from the hallowed grounds of Mercedes-Benz' Rennabteilung (Racing Department), to the stifling heat of Buenos Aires in January, to the brand-new high-speed banks of the Monza circuit, to one of the shrines of motorsport in Indianapolis.
Our story begins with a humble engineering student in Munich at the dawn of the thirties when Germany was undergoing some of the worst symptoms of the crushing Great Depression. The London-born Rudolf "Rudi" Uhlenhaut was hired by Mercedes-Benz straight out of school in 1931, and he spent the next five years proving his mettle in the production car department, increasingly recognized for his quiet demeanor, strong work ethic, and unusual sense of commitment. During this time Mercedes-Benz returned to racing, and in 1934 and 1935 the works team enjoyed great success, giving rise to the W 25 racecars known as the Silver Arrows, for their unfinished metal coachwork. Despite these initial successes, Stuttgart suffered a setback in 1936 when that year's new car failed to meet expectations, and changes were soon afoot.
The promising Rudolf Uhlenhaut was promoted to director of the experimental department for racing, which was somewhat of a surprise given that he had no experience in racecar development. He was to work under racing department director Dr. Fritz Nallinger, and in conjunction with racing team manager Alfred Neubauer. Keenly aware of how little he knew about competition cars, Uhlenhaut threw himself into the assignment with characteristic zeal, learning the ins and outs of racecar behavior by privately testing the cars on the Nürburgring. Team drivers marveled at how quickly Uhlenhaut became shockingly good, as he insisted on testing cars at racing speeds to properly replicate in-race conditions, occasionally even besting team-driver lap times in the process. He was also the only Daimler-Benz engineer who routinely traveled with the racing team, and his direction led to key improvements for the 1937 car, the W 125. Uhlenhaut proceeded to the highly successful W 154 and W 165 racecar programs before war broke out in September 1939.
A NEW SILVER ARROW RISES FROM THE ASHES
Upon resuming production following World War II, Mercedes-Benz faced the daunting task of contributing to rebuilding Germany while finding a profitable niche in the post-war economy. As with most European marques, the company began with inexpensive and efficient models that assumed a pre-war design, being positioned for the common working man, while gradually delving into more luxurious offerings. With the introduction of the 300 S model in 1951, Stuttgart signaled its intention to resume the manufacture of luxury and sporting automobiles, and it came as no surprise that this growth would include a return to motorsports competition.
The company's return to the track began softly, with a new sports car called the 300 SL "Gullwing," which was created under the management of Rudolf Uhlenhaut. In its earliest W 194 iteration, the 300 SL created a stir in styling and competition that set the table for both further sports car racing, and series production of the popular W 198 300 SL Gullwing production model. But the most natural segway for Stuttgart's return to high-level racing was afforded by the FIA's odd cancellation of Formula One for 1952 and 1953, which was prompted by a lack of credible competition.
With this conundrum in mind, the FIA stipulated new Formula One regulations that would go into effect for the 1954 season. This advance notice gave all interested manufacturers well over a year to develop a suitable competition car. The new formula was relatively simple; it specified that normally aspirated engines could not exceed 2.5 liters, while blown engines were limited to a comical 750 cubic centimeters. Other than mandating a single centered seat, the rules for coachwork were unspecific.
Fritz Nallinger and his fellow directors at Mercedes-Benz recognized this new formula as a unique opportunity to return to the company's motorsports roots in grand prix racing, and with characteristic efficiency, a plan was put in motion to field the best possible car. A new, well-staffed Rennabteilung (racing department) was created, including a traveling factory team. At their disposal lay the full budget and managerial assets of Mercedes-Benz's considerable infrastructure.
As chief of the Experimental Department, Rudolf Uhlenhaut was the principal engineer overseeing the new grand prix model's development. He began with a truss-type narrow-diameter tubular space frame similar to the W 194 300 SL racing car's chassis. Dubbed the W 196 R, this chassis was equipped with front independent suspension via double wishbones, torsion-bar springs, and cutting-edge hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers. More significantly, the rear suspension was governed by a low-pivot swing axle that was personally developed by Uhlenhaut, a design feature that would later reappear in the 300 SL Roadster production car. Massive Alfin drum brakes were specified to keep the W 196 R grounded, and they were mounted inboard to lower unsprung mass.
Having run both supercharged inline eight-cylinder and V-12 engines during the interwar period, the racing department had several options to test, and eventually concluded that a straight-eight configuration displacing 2,494 cubic centimeters would deliver the most consistent power. Designed around a complex Hirth roller-bearing crankshaft, the engine was essentially two four-cylinder motors in unison, with two camshafts for each intake and exhaust. This jewel of an engine was equipped with racing components like dual ignition and dry-sump lubrication while featuring revolutionary desmodromic valve gear instead of standard valve springs; and Bosch high-pressure direct fuel injection that guaranteed reliable and smooth power application.
The purpose-developed M 196 engine initially developed a robust 257 horsepower, which was gradually improved over two seasons to 290 horsepower. The motor was positioned low in the front compartment, canted by between 20 and 37 degrees to save space, and coupled to a rear-mounted five-speed gearbox actuated by a single-disc dry clutch. The gearbox unusually featured synchros in the upper four gears, while a limited-slip differential ensured superior traction. Fuel was provided by tanks ranging in capacity from 107 to 199 liters, with compartmented baffles that reduced sloshing issues.
Since the new formula specified so few limitations to coachwork, Nallinger and Uhlenhaut concluded that a streamlined aerodynamic body with enclosed wheels would optimize high-speed courses, while an open-wheel grand prix body would be ideal for more twisting circuits. Sleek and purposeful, the W 196 R's torpedo-shaped open-wheel body was drawn up along lines that were largely conventional for the era.
The streamlined body, in contrast, was something truly unique. Low and wide, its smoothly curved coachwork featured minimal frills, being chiefly distinguished by a wide open-mouth grille, cooling inlets on the rear shoulder haunches, and molded character lines across the tops of the front wheel wells (a design cue that came to be characteristic across the 300 SL model line, lending a marvelous continuity among the marque's sports-racing cars). This was undoubtedly one of the most exquisite expressions of curve and stance ever pounded out, rivalling the most sensuous sports-racers and supercars for sheer visual appeal.
These streamlined bodies were built in extremely limited quantity by the racing department out of Elektron magnesium alloy, providing a shell even lighter than aluminum for a total weight of just over 88 pounds. The open-wheel bodies were also made of lightweight alloy, although coachwork production later shifted to steel bodies built at Sindelfingen.
The streamlined enclosed-wheel body was intermittently campaigned with the open-wheel grand prix-style body during the 1954 and 1955 racing seasons. The factory designation for the enclosed-wheel coachwork was Stromlinie, or Streamline, and today these cars are also known as Streamliner or Stromlinienwagen (streamlined car). With such powerful mechanical specifications and slippery lightweight coachwork, the W 196 R could exceed 186 mph, making it one of the fastest grand prix cars yet constructed.
1954: A PERFECT PLAN REALIZED
Of course, Alfred Neubauer, the longtime manager of the Mercedes-Benz racing team, knew that the W 196 R's success would be contingent on driving talent, so the decision was made early in development to contract the best array of available drivers. While two German drivers were initially signed, the veteran Karl Kling and the up-and-coming Hans Herrmann, the spotlight soon belonged to the third team member: noted Argentinian racing driver Juan Manuel Fangio.
There was a time in the late 1950s when the five-time Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio enjoyed a fame that transcended motorsport—when he was a true worldwide celebrity not unlike Lewis Hamilton today, and when grandstands rang out with passionate chants of "FONN-GEE-OHHH!"
Before he was a household name, in early 1954 Juan Manuel Fangio was merely a potential in transition, a burgeoning talent waiting to explode. Without a doubt, Fangio's credentials had already been established with his first Drivers' Championship for Alfa Romeo in 1951. But with the disintegration of the Alfa Romeo team during 1952 and the FIA's subsequent cancelation of Formula One in favor of Formula Two proceedings, Ferrari dominated the following two years of competition. Fangio toiled away patiently with the Maserati team, and in sports car racing. Victories came repeatedly, but further championships remained elusive, and having reached his early forties, there was a justifiable presentiment among racing fans that Fangio's best days were already behind him.
Fortunately for Fangio, his star had already been recognized by Stuttgart. Ever in search of the best driving talent, Alfred Neubauer could not help but remember Fangio's remarkable performance in an Alfa Romeo at the 1951 Swiss Grand Prix—achieving pole, fastest lap, and a 1st-place finish. Neubauer reached out to Fangio's agent and a contract for 1954 was signed with Mercedes-Benz. But as the 1954 season began, the new machine from Stuttgart still awaited completion. This led Fangio to continue racing for Maserati in the first two rounds of the 1954 Formula One season, winning the Grands Prix at both Argentina and Belgium. Following the Belgian Grand Prix, Fangio officially made the move to Mercedes-Benz.
In July 1954 the new Mercedes-Benz race cars made their highly anticipated debut at the French Grand Prix at Reims. Debuting a trio of W 196 R Streamliners, their very appearance inspired awe, looking unlike anything anyone had ever seen before in a Formula One race. Team drivers Fangio, Kling, and Herrmann would qualify 1st, 2nd, and 7th, respectively. Herrmann would go on to set the race's fastest lap while Fangio and Kling would achieve an impressive 1-2 finish. The race marked a resounding victory for Mercedes-Benz on its long-awaited return to racing.
Fangio qualified for the pole position start at the British Grand Prix in late July, but rainy conditions led to a 4th-place finish. The team returned to form at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in early August with a four-car team consisting of three open-wheel cars and one Streamliner. The race marked the debut of the open-wheel iteration of the W 196 R. Fangio earned pole position and would go on to win the race with Kling finishing 4th, each in open-wheel cars. A three-car team, all open-wheel, at the Swiss Grand Prix three weeks later brought nearly identical results, with Fangio again winning and Herrmann finishing 3rd.
At the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit in early September, Mercedes-Benz entered two Streamliners and one open-wheel car after testing indicated that the closed-fender coachwork would be faster. In the race, a young British privateer named Stirling Moss behind the wheel of a Maserati 250F led late in the race 19 laps before retiring due to a cracked oil tank. Fangio in a Streamliner and Herrmann in an open-wheel car respectively cruised to 1st and 4th place finishes. The performance of the talented Englishman likely did not escape the attention of Rudolf Uhlenhaut and Alfred Neubauer.
Two weeks later the W 196 R cars were entered at a non-championship race, the Berlin Grand Prix, which was held at the AVUS circuit. With no points consequence, this was almost strictly a public relations demonstration for an enthusiastic German audience. Three Streamliners driven by Kling, Fangio, and Herrmann cruised to an easy 1-2-3 podium sweep.
At the Spanish Grand Prix in late October, the last race of the year, Fangio finished a team-best 3rd among a contingent of three open-wheel entries. The legend of Juan Manuel Fangio had grown; his second Drivers' Championship was in the books. The sheer and immediate potency of the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Silver Arrow had been established, foiling Ferrari's attempt at a third straight Formula One championship in the process.
In the midst of this immediate show of dominance for the W 196 R, chassis number 00009/54, the car offered here, was completed. Originally finished as an open-wheel monoposto built on the 1954-specification 2,350-millimeter long-wheelbase chassis, and being designated with a 54 in its chassis number suffix (1955 cars have a 55 suffix), the car first began testing on 15 December 1954. For chassis number 00009/54, as well as for the victorious Mercedes-Benz racing team, even greater things were to come in the season ahead.
CHASSIS NUMBER 00009/54 IN COMPETITION: OPEN-WHEEL
For the 1955 season, the W 196 R was further developed to remain as competitive as possible. The engine was improved in numerous aspects, including the addition of a new intake manifold, and the decision was made to run the open-wheel grand prix bodies for almost all of the 1955 races. The revised cars were approximately 70 kilograms (154 pounds) lighter than their predecessors. Further testing demonstrated that the 1954 W 196 R had been significantly compromised by its Continental tires, so the rubber manufacturer was taken to task to deliver a better product, and their development during the off-season was a critical boon for the revised car.
The Rennabteilung again went after top driving talent, recruiting the upstart 25-year-old Brit from Monza, Stirling Moss, to join their stable of drivers. Moss eventually became a well-known celebrity in his own right, and one of the most famous of all the notable British drivers. Though his career would be prematurely cut short by an accident in 1962, he remained a forthright proponent of motorsports and a supporter of the automotive niche throughout his life, even serving as a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz in his twilight years. His lifelong contributions to the sport and Britain's motoring niche were recognized in 2000 when he was knighted by the future King Charles.
But during the early 1950s Moss was still steadily developing as a privateer, an evolution that had begun with his win at the 1950 Tourist Trophy. To the end of securing a spot on the Mercedes-Benz team, in 1953 he bought and raced a true Formula One specification car, the Maserati 250F. Though the 250F was somewhat unreliable in competition, Moss showed considerable promise during several impressive qualifying sessions, and Neubauer took note after the events of the 1954 Italian Grand Prix. By December 1954 Moss was hired and practicing in the W 196 R, familiarizing himself with the car's nuances while marveling at the Rennabteilung's team environment.
Moss later wrote of the Mercedes-Benz team, "Their thoroughness and thoughtfulness amazed me from the very beginning. It was like being in a different world...Every course where the cars raced was analyzed mathematically...Neubauer himself used to mark and time gearchanges, lap after lap...Drivers were listened to and respected, which often doesn't happen on other top teams...Nothing was too much trouble—and they were willing to try anything which might improve performance."
There was no doubt that Mercedes-Benz' commitment had come to fruition in 1954, and it was about to bear further fruit with Moss onboard. It was Fangio, however, that set the winning tone with a victory at round one of the 1955 Formula One season at the Argentine Grand Prix on 16 January 1955. Since the next Formula One points event on the calendar didn't arrive until late May, the team remained in Argentina to conduct some live-action testing during the Buenos Aires Grand Prix, as the Formula Libre race's lack of regulations proved to be a popular testbed for Formula One teams.
The Formula Libre Buenos Aires Grand Prix on 30 January 1955 would mark the first race for the car on offer, chassis number 00009/54, piloted by none other than Juan Manuel Fangio as car #2. According to Rennabteilung build sheets on file, as well as recent confirmation by Mercedes-Benz, chassis number 00009/54 was equipped with a "Sport 59" engine, apparently code for the 3.0-liter M196 engine, and fitted with an open-wheel monoposto body. One of the team's primary objectives for this non-Formula One event was apparently to test this new development of the M196 engine, which was positioned for use in the upcoming W 196 S sports car, the 300 SLR. Moss, Kling, and Herrmann joined Fangio—each racing an open-wheel car.
The Buenos Aires Grand Prix race format was a bit unusual: two separate heats of 30 laps each, with the winner determined by the fastest total aggregate time. While Fangio earned the pole position during a rainy qualifying session, Moss leapt out to lead the first heat. Fangio made his move during the 13th lap, briefly holding 1st place before being overtaken by Giuseppe "Nino" Farina's Ferrari 625, and this order held until the finish line with Fangio 10.5 seconds behind. During the second heat many drivers switched cars, and Fangio initially led before being passed by Moss, who went on to win the heat by three seconds in an exciting finish. Despite finishing 2nd in both heats, Fangio achieved the lowest total time of 2:23:18.9, besting Moss by 11.9 seconds, the 625 Ferrari by over half a minute, and Kling by nearly a minute, thus capturing the win for the Rennabteilung in this important first outing for chassis number 00009/54.
The victory gave Fangio a sweep of that season's races in his native country, having won the Formula One Argentine Grand Prix two weeks prior. The impressive finish at the Buenos Aires Grand Prix was commemorated in-period, with Mercedes-Benz commissioning a beautiful race poster by Anton Stankowski celebrating the 1-2-4 Fangio-Moss-Kling finish.
At the Monaco Grand Prix in late May, Fangio was given a new open-wheel car built on an extra short-wheelbase chassis (2,150 millimeters), and though he qualified for the pole, Herrmann then crashed the car in practice. The team's luck only got worse during the race, where three cars retired early with valve-gear failures and Moss struggled to a 9th place finish.
In June, Fangio and Moss roared to 1-2 finishes at both the Belgian Grand Prix and the Dutch Grand Prix before a number of grands prix were cancelled in response to the recent accident at Le Mans. When action resumed at the British Grand Prix at Aintree in mid-July, the Mercedes-Benz team dominated again, with the experienced home-court veteran Moss leading a four-car contingent to a commanding 1-2-3-4 finish (Moss-Fangio-Kling-Taruffi), the only quadruple victory in marque history.
This set the stage for the season's final contest—and 00009/54's final competition outing: the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in September.
CHASSIS NUMBER 00009/54 IN COMPETITION: STROMLINIENWAGEN
For 1955, the Monza circuit was rebuilt with a new high-speed bank that has since become legendary in motorsport. With this development, the Rennabteilung already knew the course would favor a Streamliner body, despite the fact that they had been running the open-wheel coachwork exclusively up to this point for the 1955 season. During testing at Monza in August, the team experimented with a new protruding nose piece for the Stromlinienwagen, but results were inconclusive. Ultimately, the medium-wheelbase chassis was chosen to be mounted with new length-adapted Streamliner coachwork in the original style, with the exception of a new air inlet next to the hood to feed the canted engine. Two such cars were built at Untertürkheim.
When practice for the race ensued a month later, the medium-wheelbase Streamliner was found to be twitchy at high speeds. Fangio then assumed the use of a spare Streamliner built on an original long-wheelbase chassis from 1954, and Moss quickly requested an identical car, so Neubauer contacted the workshop and ordered a Streamliner to be delivered to Monza as soon as possible. A spare long-wheelbase chassis, number 00009/54, was mounted with a Streamliner body and immediately dispatched to Monza.
Mercedes-Benz would send eight cars, nearly all their running W 196 Rs, to what would be the model's swan song in competitive racing. Of the eight cars sent to the track, four cars were entered by Mercedes-Benz for the race, with Fangio and Moss competing in W 196 R Streamliners and Kling and Piero Taruffi behind the wheels of W 196 R open-wheel monopostos.
This car, chassis number 00009/54, was the aforementioned long-wheelbase Streamliner delivered on request for Moss after the medium-wheelbase Streamliners had been declined by Fangio and himself. Stirling Moss, driving under #16, would pilot chassis number 00009/54 in the race. Fangio would secure pole position, with Moss securing 2nd starting position just three-tenths of a second behind Fangio. Kling would qualify 3rd, and Taruffi 9th; the advantage of the Streamliner bodywork at the fast Monza track was evident.
From the start, Fangio and Moss held their 1-2 start. Moss would take the lead from Fangio in the 9th lap of the race, but it was short-lived, as Fangio would regain the lead in lap 9 and retain 1st position for the remainder of the race. Moss would go on to hold onto 2nd through lap 18, when he was forced to pit to replace the windscreen, dropping him down to 8th by the time he rejoined the race. Moss would climb to 7th but was soon forced to retire due to a failing piston in cylinder five after completing 27 laps. Completing just over half the race, Moss was still able to achieve the race's fastest lap at an impressive 2:46.900 in chassis number 00009/54. His average speed of 215.7 km/h on lap 21, while attempting to make up ground following his early pit stop, earned him one point towards the Formula One Drivers' Championship.
Karl Kling would retire from the Italian Grand Prix shortly after Moss, pulling out of the race with a defective cardan shaft after 32 laps. Fangio would go on to win, tailed closely by Taruffi just seven-tenths of a second behind. The impressive 1-2 finish—a fitting bookend to the W 196 R Stromlinienwagens— triumphant 1-2 victory at their debut outing, the 1954 French Grand Prix at Reims—would not be replicated again by Mercedes-Benz as a constructor for 58 years, with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at the 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix.
At the conclusion of the 1955 Formula One season, Fangio captured his second straight World Drivers' Championship, with Moss finishing 2nd, sealing the W 196 R Silver Arrow's legend in the process. Moss, meanwhile, had captured two World Sportscar Championship victories in the 300 SLR, including his storied win at the 1955 Mille Miglia in the #722 car with co-driver Denis Jenkinson. This proved to be enough to edge out Ferrari for a narrow championship victory in sports car racing. Significantly, the 300 SLR, internally designated the W 196 S, was the two-seat sports car development of the W 196 R; the 300 SLR benefitted from a larger 3.0-liter motor, the likes of which had been proven in chassis number 00009/54 in Buenos Aires.
The W 196 R's pedigree was now unimpeachable. In two seasons the model had won three championships in two different racing series. In 12 appearances at Formula One points events the W 196 R had won a commanding nine times, and it won two additional non-points races, totaling 11 victories in 14 starts. This 78 percent represents an incredible winning rate by any measure. It is also important to note that the World Constructors' Championship had not yet been created; had it existed, Mercedes-Benz surely would have won this title, as well.
AT THE END OF AN ERA
Having demonstrated that they could dominate on the track Mercedes-Benz chose to make a graceful exit once again from motor racing after 1955, bowing out for the next few decades—and further ensuring that the remarkable legend of the W 196 R would never be forgotten.
At the conclusion of 1955, 10 different complete W 196 R examples remained in running order, including four with Stromlinienwagen coachwork. Fourteen chassis had been built in total, designated with numbers 1 to 15. (Chassis numbers 1 and 15 were eventually scrapped, and number 11 was never actually assigned to a chassis.) In October 1955, Mercedes-Benz held an official ceremony to retire the W 196 R, publicly shrouding the cars in dust sheets before transferring them to the company's museum in Stuttgart. Following the completion of its competition duties but prior to being stored, chassis number 00009/54 had been—in keeping with common post-race procedure—partially dismantled and equipped with a new engine, among other items. While the Daimler-Benz Museum initially retained all 10 remaining W 196 R examples, four cars were eventually donated to prestigious museums around the world, including chassis number 00009/54.
The post-racing path of chassis number 00009/54 was set in motion in September 1964, when a contingent from the Mercedes-Benz Club of America visited the marque's Untertürkheim plant in Stuttgart. As detailed by a wealth of correspondence on file, during this visit, a conversation ensued between the club's Wilhelm "Bill" Spoerle and the manufacturer's Dr. -Ing Friedrich Schildberger about donating a race car to the "planned new museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway."
A German immigrant who once worked in NSU's motorcycle racing division before the war, Mr. Spoerle had moved to Indianapolis in 1956 to work on racing cars, taking a position at the nascent Dreyer Motorsports for several years. Eventually lured away by Anton "Tony" Hulman Jr. in 1963, Spoerle became the Restoration Manager at the relatively new museum at the Brickyard. By the time of Spoerle's visit to Untertürkheim he was already working for Tony Hulman, and he surely realized there could be no better place for a W 196 R donation than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.
Tony Hulman was a typical example of one of motorsports— classic archetypes—the colorful business-savvy impresario who has arrived at racing rather late in life and by accident, but is bitten by the bug and comes to love it. From Terre Haute, Indiana, Hulman was the scion of a fortune built on an eponymous grocery distribution business. He worked his way up through the family business, eventually becoming president in 1931, while excelling in imaginative marketing approaches such as the ad campaign for the firm's Clabber Girl baking powder.
The Brickyard had fallen into a surprising state of disrepair by late 1941 when racing was canceled after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the war, the track's owner, former World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker, was content to sell the circuit to whomever might want it, for any use at all. But former three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Wilbur Shaw was adamant that the Brickyard should only be sold to someone intending to keep it open for racing. After searching high and low, Shaw found Hulman, who officially purchased the speedway in November 1945, and quickly set about renovations for the planned 1946 Indianapolis 500, the first post-war edition of the legendary race. Hulman continued to regularly improve the course over the years, while notably founding the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation, a separate non-profit organization created in part as the financial/business facade for the new IMS Museum.
As Mercedes-Benz president Walter Hitzinger and chief engineer Dr. Nallinger explained in a March 1965 letter to Hulman, "In view of the special significance of Indianapolis in the history of automobile racing and also in particular view of our own company's contribution, we have now decided to give you a 2.5 litre streamlined car, Type W 196, built in 1954, as a gift for exhibition in your museum." Mercedes-Benz had a tie to America's greatest race, having won the race in just its fifth running in 1915 when Ralph DePalma drove a Mercedes to victory in what proved to be one of just a handful of Indianapolis 500 wins for a European manufacturer.
Dr. Schildberger set about re-commissioning the W 196 R so that it could be driven during an official presentation at the Brickyard, which was planned for the weekend of the 1965 Indianapolis 500. For this exhibition, Mercedes-Benz ordered 50 gallons of Esso (Exxon) racing fuel to be delivered. The Stromlinienwagen was shipped through the port of Baltimore in late April and trucked to Indianapolis.
Officially donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation on Sunday, 30 May 1965, the Mercedes-Benz made two appearances during the weekend. The first came at an informal presentation after the annual driver's meeting, where the car was demonstrated by Peter DePaolo in honor of the Mercedes victory 50 years earlier by his uncle, Ralph DePalma. The following day DePaolo again took the wheel before Monday's feature race, after the car had officially been presented to the IMS Museum by Mercedes-Benz.
LIFE IN RETIREMENT
For almost six decades, the W 196 R has been fastidiously stored and maintained by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, occasionally being invited to attend important exhibitions, such as the 1996 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, the 2003 Canadian International AutoShow, and the grand re-opening of the redesigned Petersen Automotive Museum in December 2015. The car participated in the first Velocity Invitational (then called Sonoma Speed Festival) event at Sonoma Raceway in 2019, and it was then shown at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance once again in 2020.
The W 196 R has been displayed at the IMS Museum periodically, including the 2020-2021 "From the Vault" exhibition; when not on display, it was part of the Basement Collection VIP tours of the Museum's vehicle storage location. From July 2022 to January 2023, chassis number 00009/54 was again shown at the Peterson Automotive Museum as part of the "Andy Warhol: Cars — Works from the Mercedes-Benz Art Collection" exhibit. Most recently, it was part of the Mercedes-Benz display at the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. In the interest of a true educational mission, however, the car has never been submitted for judging at concours events.
The Streamliner has been treated to two mild bouts of sympathetic freshening during its more recent lifetime, first undergoing a refinish in the correct DB 180 Silver Metallic in 1980, with race #16 in white roundels, as per the 1955 Monza livery when driven by Stirling Moss. In late 2015, in preparation for its display at the Petersen Museum, the car received a second refinishing of the coachwork by the esteemed experts at Canepa Motorsports in Scotts Valley, California, and it continues to be a startling testament to the brilliance of the Stromlinenwagens at Monza.
There is no small irony in the fact that this W 196 R has spent so many decades in the care of the IMS Museum. For at the end of the 1955 season, according to motoring historian Karl Ludvigsen in his book Mercedes-Benz: Quicksilver Century, some minds at Mercedes-Benz wondered how the model might fare in the Indianapolis 500. Initial research and development calculations were undertaken to create performance projections. But after these initial calculations were made, the pursuit was dropped in the face of anticipated high costs and a lack of pure necessity. The W 196 R had achieved everything it was built to do; no further campaigning was necessary. Its shocking form, however, inspired a number of Indianapolis 500 hopefuls—perhaps most notably Jimmy Daywalt and the Sumar Special—to incorporate elements of its streamlined design into their own cars for 1955.
It should now be very evident that chassis number 00009/54 is a diamond of extraordinary cut, emitting a brilliance that is almost impossible to fathom. The car is one of just 14 chassis built, and it is believed to be one of just 10 known complete examples surviving at the conclusion of the 1955 Formula One season. Of those, this example was one of only four mounted with the magnificent Streamliner coachwork at the conclusion of the 1955 Formula One season. It was an integral component of the factory racing campaign that saw Mercedes-Benz capture two Formula One Drivers' Championships in as many attempts, and one World Sportscar Championship during the same period.
Further driven to victory by Fangio at the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, and to the fastest lap by Stirling Moss at the 1955 Formula One Italian Grand Prix at Monza, this W 196 R had been piloted by two of history's most famous and accomplished racing drivers. Following one of the most successful competition campaigns imaginable, the car was retired to the stately in-house collection of Mercedes-Benz before being donated nine years later to the equally respected Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, whose collection includes some of the finest racing cars the world has ever seen.
Chassis number 00009/54 represents only the second W 196 R ever offered for private ownership, and the sole example offered with the magnificent Streamliner coachwork. Presented in its proper Monza livery from the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, and documented with a trove of period materials, chassis number 00009/54 has moreover never been formally presented for judging or driven in any vintage events; it should experience a rapturous welcome at any of the major events for which it is eligible. Ideal for display at flagship concours d'elegance like Pebble Beach or Villa d'Este, the magnificent W 196 R will surely also experience great acclaim at significant marque events worldwide. Note that after many years of static display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, chassis number 00009/54 will require careful recommissioning prior to starting or driving.
The future caretaker can take pride in ownership of a bona fide competition legend that is one of Formula One's most successful models ever, bar none. Absolutely astonishing in every respect, from its advanced, powerful engineering and truly singular coachwork to its remarkable history—driven by two of the biggest names in motorsports, this W 196 R Stromlinienwagen is a gem without parallel. It now awaits the expected ardor of Formula One enthusiasts, dedicated marque collectors, and lovers of the all-but-unobtainable—sure to redefine our very understanding of what is possible.
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The RM Sotheby's auction preview at the Monterey Conference Center was a delight!
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We saw so many great vehicles and sights during Monterey Car Week!
A flexible new configuration manager saves time setting and adjusting assembly display and allows multiple display configurations to be applied at once.
Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, RI
Located outside the new Chace
Center near the RISD Museum of
Art, the configuration of benches
transforms the public space into
a place where students can easily
converse. We challenge the typical
notions of linearity familiar in public
seating by introducing a quartercircular
arc into the bench design.
This project is part of the Ars electronica Garden Lima. As we immerse ourselves in the network of alliances, approximations and relationships currently experienced through computers, we are enveloped in an innate need to connect / communicate and stay current in the virtual world; a simulacrum of life itself further established by a pandemic that has confined us to a “flat prison cell”. It is this virtual architecture precisely that makes it possible to place the world at a remove, shortening time and distances thanks to technologies that underpin an ecosystem for discussion and exchange with multiple agents.
For more informations please visit:
ars.electronica.art/keplersgardens/en/lima/
Credit: UNAP
The Windows Boot configuration Data (BCD) store file contains some invalid information. WINDOWS 7
Answer from Google Gemini AI..
What does this mean on a failed reboot.... The Windows Boot configuration Data (BCD) store file contains some invalid information. WINDOWS 7
That message indicates that your computer's Boot Configuration Data (BCD) file has become corrupted or contains errors. The BCD is a critical file that tells your computer how and where to boot the Windows operating system. When it's invalid, the system can't find the necessary files to start Windows, leading to a failed reboot.
What is the BCD?
The BCD is a file that holds important boot-related information. Think of it as a map for your computer's startup process. . It tells the computer things like:
Which hard drive and partition to boot from.
The location of the Windows operating system files.
The boot menu options (if you have more than one operating system installed).
When the BCD file is "invalid," it means the map is unreadable or has wrong directions, so your computer gets lost during the boot process.
Why does the BCD get corrupted?
Several things can cause the BCD to become invalid:
Sudden power loss during a system update or file write operation.
Improper shutdown of the computer.
Hard drive failures or bad sectors.
Malware or virus attacks that target system files.
Installing a new operating system in a way that overwrites or corrupts the existing boot data.
How to Fix the Problem
The most common way to fix an invalid BCD is by using the Windows 7 installation or repair disc. Here's the general process:
Boot from the installation media. You may need to change the boot order in your computer's BIOS.
Choose "Repair your computer" from the installation screen.
Navigate to the System Recovery Options and select "Command Prompt."
In the Command Prompt, you can use specific commands to rebuild the BCD. The most common commands are:
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /rebuildbcd
These commands will scan your system for a Windows installation and rebuild the BCD file with the correct information, effectively creating a new, valid "map" for your computer to follow.
I just did a power reset....
When you perform a power reset, also known as a hard reset or power cycle, you're essentially clearing all temporary data from your computer's memory (RAM) and some peripheral devices. This is different from a simple restart or shutdown because it physically drains all power from the system, forcing it to reload everything from scratch.
How a Power Reset Works
A power reset involves three main steps:
Shut down the computer.
Unplug all power sources. This includes the AC power cord for desktops and the battery and AC adapter for laptops.
Hold down the power button for 15-30 seconds. This drains any remaining electrical charge from the capacitors on the motherboard and other components. .
Why do a Power Reset?
A power reset can fix various issues by clearing temporary glitches or corrupted data that a regular restart can't fix. It's often used when:
Your computer is frozen or unresponsive and a normal shutdown isn't possible.
Peripherals like USB devices, monitors, or keyboards are not working correctly.
The computer turns on but doesn't show anything on the screen (a "no POST" situation).
You are experiencing boot-related issues, as it can sometimes resolve minor conflicts that prevent the system from starting properly.
When NOT to do a Power Reset
While a power reset is a powerful troubleshooting tool, it's not a solution for every problem. It's not the same as a factory reset, which wipes your hard drive.
A power reset won't erase your files, but it also won't resolve software-level issues, such as corrupted drivers or a failing operating system. For those problems, you'd need to use software-based solutions like system restores or reinstallation.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
07/10/25 Now the ebm died a few times powered off, and reset. Jiggled the SCSI plug, pulled the power cord off and performed a few reboots of the scanner.
All power to devices off overnight...
Made crunching noises a few times
Check SCSI PolarLight Shortcut not find a SCSI board!!!...... But SF Launcer does.... BUT no Adapter found when scan launched...
Finally got Holder recognised and doing a scan on the Neg holder, but SilveFast thought it was the slide holder.
went ahead to scan and the ebm crashed...
Restart with the large RED button failed!
The scanner is sitting, waiting with the amber light blinking.
Power on and bloody scanner crunching the holder again.
The ebm is DEAD ..
So go and have breakfast............................
I unplugged it, and it then booted up. Windows started!
BUT scanner won't load holder crunchers..... I gently forced the holder till it caught, and did a Scan of the Neg Holder with SilverFast, thinking it was a 4 slide Holder!
Then ran Overview gain with crunching noises... still only sees a "Slide Holder" and crunchers.... restart scanner. SF sill has the eject holder command and eject just crunches....
Doing a scan just crunches the gears of the holder. With thumb-holding the holder it shut up!
Overview is noisy... 'scanner not Ready"
Crounching of gears continues with the holder removed!!!!
Rebooted the scanner and the silent overview failed. won't even start. Overview command is visible..
11th Oct 2025
After a day's rest, restarted the ebm and Scanner OK
While scanning slides, the ebm crashed. I rebooted & It had recognised the slide holder, but would not scan a slide, just showed the empty slide space....and then I put the negative holder in and it loaded the B&W neg settings 12>8 Bit Greyscale!!
now scanned a few from Roll61.....
The final-configuration Boeing 2707 mockup was sold to a museum and displayed at the SST Aviation Exhibit Center in Kissimmee, Florida, from 1973 to 1981. In 1983, the building, complete with SST, was purchased by the Faith World church. For years the Osceola New Life Assembly of God held services there with the airplane still standing above. In 1990, the mock-up was sold to aircraft restorer Charles Bell, who moved it, in pieces, to Merritt Island, in order to preserve it while it waited for a new home as the church now wanted the space for expansion. The forward fuselage was on display at the Hiller Aviation Museum of San Carlos, California, for many years, but in early 2013, was moved back to Seattle, where it is undergoing restoration at the Museum of Flight.
The Boeing 2707 was an American supersonic passenger airliner project during the 1960s. After winning a competition for a government-funded contract to build an American supersonic airliner, Boeing began development at its facilities in Seattle, Washington. The design emerged as a large aircraft with seating for 250 to 300 passengers and cruise speeds of approximately Mach 3. It was intended to be much larger and faster than preceding SST designs such as Concorde.
The SST was the topic of considerable concern within and outside the aviation industry. From the start, the airline industry noted that the economics of the design were questionable, concerns that were only partially addressed during development. Outside the field, the entire SST concept was the subject of considerable negative press, centered on the issue of sonic booms and effects on the ozone layer.
A key design feature of the 2707 was its use of a swing wing configuration. During development the required weight and size of this mechanism continued to grow, forcing the team to start over using a conventional delta wing. Rising costs and the lack of a clear market led to its cancellation in 1971 before two prototypes had been completed.
From Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_2707
Photo by Eric Friedebach
1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 Streamliner 'Monza'
This car was displayed here as a teaser for its planned auction in January 2025 in Stuttgart. As of this post (2025.07.24) this is the highest priced 2025 sale (€51,155,000 EUR). Scroll to (2) for auction info.
Serendipitously, a 1955 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Formula 1 Race Car, which is the same car design but with an open-wheeled body configuration, was shown later in the week at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. It's fun to note the same cockpit (mirrors, windscreen, steering wheel, seat) and right-side hood vent.
(1) The following is from an article in www.octane-magazine.com (link goes to the article which includes nice photos of the car's engine and cockpit):
$50 to 70m Mercedes-Benz W196 Streamliner heading to auction
Matthew Hayward ~ Friday 16th August 2024
RM Sotheby's has partnered with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum to bring 11 highly significant cars to auction, headlined by the 1954 Mercedes W196 Streamliner, raced by legends Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss in period.
Why the sale? Although the IMS Museum has thousands of unique and historic racing artefacts, not everything aligns with the Museum's mission. In an effort to not only raise important funding for the future of the museum, but refocus the museum to better reflect its goal of celebrating the history of this iconic motor circuit, it has decided to sell the last of the vehicles in its collection not directly connected to the Indianapolis 500 or Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"Our Stories Behind the Spectacle capital campaign is helping to fund the complete reimagining of the IMS Museum, from new structural and state-of-the-art technology installations to interactive exhibits and experiences. The deaccession and sale of these artefacts are earmarked specifically to help us create a more robust endowment to be used for caring for our collection, ensuring our long-term financial viability and position as an internationally recognised cultural institution for years to come." - Joe Hale, President, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
This W196 holds the unique distinction of being driven by two of motor racing's best drivers, Juan Manuel Fangio and Sir Stirling Moss. Originally featuring an open-wheel body, Fangio would pilot this car in a non-points race in Buenos Aires in 1954. Later on, this chassis would receive the iconic streamlined body work and was then driven by Moss at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
At the race Moss would achieve the fastest lap earning him one point in the World Drivers' Championship that year. Mercedes-Benz subsequently used the car as a practice and test car. This Mercedes-Benz was donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in 1965 directly from the factory, and is estimated to sell for $50,000,000–70,000,000.
(2) From RM Sotheby's Fall Catalog Detailing this Car for its Auction in Stuttgart, Germany
Do visit the RM Sotheby's link for this car while it lasts, which is typically some years, to see fantastic present and historic photos of the car.
1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen
€51,155,000 EUR | Sold
o Offered from the Collection of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
o The first Streamliner-bodied W 196 R ever offered for private ownership
o One of four known complete examples mounted with the exquisite factory-built enclosed-fender Stromlinienwagen coachwork at the conclusion of the 1955 Formula One season
o Driven by future five-time Drivers' Champion Juan Manuel Fangio to victory at the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix
o Piloted by celebrated driver Sir Stirling Moss at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, achieving fastest lap; presented today with that streamlined bodywork
o Donated in 1965 by Mercedes-Benz to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Museum, and now offered from 59 years of fastidious care by the IMS Museum
SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND
When evaluating the merits of a so-called legendary racing car, it is imperative to assess it from every angle. Design considerations, engineering provenance, competition pedigree, races won, and drivers utilized all factor in. How successfully did it meet its design brief, and how enduring was its competition success? What was its post-racing life and its private ownership provenance, and what is its current quality? Finally, and not least of all, is the dynamism of its overall presence.
In effect, the halo collectible racing car is like a diamond. To be considered of optimal quality, every facet of the car's unique cut must emit a brilliance that leaves one speechless.
All of which informs our understanding of the current offering, the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen, chassis number 00009/54. Rarely has a racing car emanated brilliance on so many levels. Yet, like any great car, the story of chassis number 00009/54 is not just that of a machine but one of men—and a more compelling group of racing luminaries would be nearly impossible to match. A London-born German engineer with a process so uniquely exacting it seems torn from the pages of a novel; an Argentinian racing veteran nearing the peak of his driving supremacy and worldwide celebrity; a young British driver of no less skill who would one day be knighted by the future King of England; and an American businessman raised to sell food who invested in Gasoline Alley and bought a ticket to immortality on the Brickyard.
Rudolf Uhlenhaut—Juan Manuel Fangio—Stirling Moss—Tony Hulman. These four men form the arc of this W 196 R's story, from the hallowed grounds of Mercedes-Benz' Rennabteilung (Racing Department), to the stifling heat of Buenos Aires in January, to the brand-new high-speed banks of the Monza circuit, to one of the shrines of motorsport in Indianapolis.
Our story begins with a humble engineering student in Munich at the dawn of the thirties when Germany was undergoing some of the worst symptoms of the crushing Great Depression. The London-born Rudolf "Rudi" Uhlenhaut was hired by Mercedes-Benz straight out of school in 1931, and he spent the next five years proving his mettle in the production car department, increasingly recognized for his quiet demeanor, strong work ethic, and unusual sense of commitment. During this time Mercedes-Benz returned to racing, and in 1934 and 1935 the works team enjoyed great success, giving rise to the W 25 racecars known as the Silver Arrows, for their unfinished metal coachwork. Despite these initial successes, Stuttgart suffered a setback in 1936 when that year's new car failed to meet expectations, and changes were soon afoot.
The promising Rudolf Uhlenhaut was promoted to director of the experimental department for racing, which was somewhat of a surprise given that he had no experience in racecar development. He was to work under racing department director Dr. Fritz Nallinger, and in conjunction with racing team manager Alfred Neubauer. Keenly aware of how little he knew about competition cars, Uhlenhaut threw himself into the assignment with characteristic zeal, learning the ins and outs of racecar behavior by privately testing the cars on the Nürburgring. Team drivers marveled at how quickly Uhlenhaut became shockingly good, as he insisted on testing cars at racing speeds to properly replicate in-race conditions, occasionally even besting team-driver lap times in the process. He was also the only Daimler-Benz engineer who routinely traveled with the racing team, and his direction led to key improvements for the 1937 car, the W 125. Uhlenhaut proceeded to the highly successful W 154 and W 165 racecar programs before war broke out in September 1939.
A NEW SILVER ARROW RISES FROM THE ASHES
Upon resuming production following World War II, Mercedes-Benz faced the daunting task of contributing to rebuilding Germany while finding a profitable niche in the post-war economy. As with most European marques, the company began with inexpensive and efficient models that assumed a pre-war design, being positioned for the common working man, while gradually delving into more luxurious offerings. With the introduction of the 300 S model in 1951, Stuttgart signaled its intention to resume the manufacture of luxury and sporting automobiles, and it came as no surprise that this growth would include a return to motorsports competition.
The company's return to the track began softly, with a new sports car called the 300 SL "Gullwing," which was created under the management of Rudolf Uhlenhaut. In its earliest W 194 iteration, the 300 SL created a stir in styling and competition that set the table for both further sports car racing, and series production of the popular W 198 300 SL Gullwing production model. But the most natural segway for Stuttgart's return to high-level racing was afforded by the FIA's odd cancellation of Formula One for 1952 and 1953, which was prompted by a lack of credible competition.
With this conundrum in mind, the FIA stipulated new Formula One regulations that would go into effect for the 1954 season. This advance notice gave all interested manufacturers well over a year to develop a suitable competition car. The new formula was relatively simple; it specified that normally aspirated engines could not exceed 2.5 liters, while blown engines were limited to a comical 750 cubic centimeters. Other than mandating a single centered seat, the rules for coachwork were unspecific.
Fritz Nallinger and his fellow directors at Mercedes-Benz recognized this new formula as a unique opportunity to return to the company's motorsports roots in grand prix racing, and with characteristic efficiency, a plan was put in motion to field the best possible car. A new, well-staffed Rennabteilung (racing department) was created, including a traveling factory team. At their disposal lay the full budget and managerial assets of Mercedes-Benz's considerable infrastructure.
As chief of the Experimental Department, Rudolf Uhlenhaut was the principal engineer overseeing the new grand prix model's development. He began with a truss-type narrow-diameter tubular space frame similar to the W 194 300 SL racing car's chassis. Dubbed the W 196 R, this chassis was equipped with front independent suspension via double wishbones, torsion-bar springs, and cutting-edge hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers. More significantly, the rear suspension was governed by a low-pivot swing axle that was personally developed by Uhlenhaut, a design feature that would later reappear in the 300 SL Roadster production car. Massive Alfin drum brakes were specified to keep the W 196 R grounded, and they were mounted inboard to lower unsprung mass.
Having run both supercharged inline eight-cylinder and V-12 engines during the interwar period, the racing department had several options to test, and eventually concluded that a straight-eight configuration displacing 2,494 cubic centimeters would deliver the most consistent power. Designed around a complex Hirth roller-bearing crankshaft, the engine was essentially two four-cylinder motors in unison, with two camshafts for each intake and exhaust. This jewel of an engine was equipped with racing components like dual ignition and dry-sump lubrication while featuring revolutionary desmodromic valve gear instead of standard valve springs; and Bosch high-pressure direct fuel injection that guaranteed reliable and smooth power application.
The purpose-developed M 196 engine initially developed a robust 257 horsepower, which was gradually improved over two seasons to 290 horsepower. The motor was positioned low in the front compartment, canted by between 20 and 37 degrees to save space, and coupled to a rear-mounted five-speed gearbox actuated by a single-disc dry clutch. The gearbox unusually featured synchros in the upper four gears, while a limited-slip differential ensured superior traction. Fuel was provided by tanks ranging in capacity from 107 to 199 liters, with compartmented baffles that reduced sloshing issues.
Since the new formula specified so few limitations to coachwork, Nallinger and Uhlenhaut concluded that a streamlined aerodynamic body with enclosed wheels would optimize high-speed courses, while an open-wheel grand prix body would be ideal for more twisting circuits. Sleek and purposeful, the W 196 R's torpedo-shaped open-wheel body was drawn up along lines that were largely conventional for the era.
The streamlined body, in contrast, was something truly unique. Low and wide, its smoothly curved coachwork featured minimal frills, being chiefly distinguished by a wide open-mouth grille, cooling inlets on the rear shoulder haunches, and molded character lines across the tops of the front wheel wells (a design cue that came to be characteristic across the 300 SL model line, lending a marvelous continuity among the marque's sports-racing cars). This was undoubtedly one of the most exquisite expressions of curve and stance ever pounded out, rivalling the most sensuous sports-racers and supercars for sheer visual appeal.
These streamlined bodies were built in extremely limited quantity by the racing department out of Elektron magnesium alloy, providing a shell even lighter than aluminum for a total weight of just over 88 pounds. The open-wheel bodies were also made of lightweight alloy, although coachwork production later shifted to steel bodies built at Sindelfingen.
The streamlined enclosed-wheel body was intermittently campaigned with the open-wheel grand prix-style body during the 1954 and 1955 racing seasons. The factory designation for the enclosed-wheel coachwork was Stromlinie, or Streamline, and today these cars are also known as Streamliner or Stromlinienwagen (streamlined car). With such powerful mechanical specifications and slippery lightweight coachwork, the W 196 R could exceed 186 mph, making it one of the fastest grand prix cars yet constructed.
1954: A PERFECT PLAN REALIZED
Of course, Alfred Neubauer, the longtime manager of the Mercedes-Benz racing team, knew that the W 196 R's success would be contingent on driving talent, so the decision was made early in development to contract the best array of available drivers. While two German drivers were initially signed, the veteran Karl Kling and the up-and-coming Hans Herrmann, the spotlight soon belonged to the third team member: noted Argentinian racing driver Juan Manuel Fangio.
There was a time in the late 1950s when the five-time Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio enjoyed a fame that transcended motorsport—when he was a true worldwide celebrity not unlike Lewis Hamilton today, and when grandstands rang out with passionate chants of "FONN-GEE-OHHH!"
Before he was a household name, in early 1954 Juan Manuel Fangio was merely a potential in transition, a burgeoning talent waiting to explode. Without a doubt, Fangio's credentials had already been established with his first Drivers' Championship for Alfa Romeo in 1951. But with the disintegration of the Alfa Romeo team during 1952 and the FIA's subsequent cancelation of Formula One in favor of Formula Two proceedings, Ferrari dominated the following two years of competition. Fangio toiled away patiently with the Maserati team, and in sports car racing. Victories came repeatedly, but further championships remained elusive, and having reached his early forties, there was a justifiable presentiment among racing fans that Fangio's best days were already behind him.
Fortunately for Fangio, his star had already been recognized by Stuttgart. Ever in search of the best driving talent, Alfred Neubauer could not help but remember Fangio's remarkable performance in an Alfa Romeo at the 1951 Swiss Grand Prix—achieving pole, fastest lap, and a 1st-place finish. Neubauer reached out to Fangio's agent and a contract for 1954 was signed with Mercedes-Benz. But as the 1954 season began, the new machine from Stuttgart still awaited completion. This led Fangio to continue racing for Maserati in the first two rounds of the 1954 Formula One season, winning the Grands Prix at both Argentina and Belgium. Following the Belgian Grand Prix, Fangio officially made the move to Mercedes-Benz.
In July 1954 the new Mercedes-Benz race cars made their highly anticipated debut at the French Grand Prix at Reims. Debuting a trio of W 196 R Streamliners, their very appearance inspired awe, looking unlike anything anyone had ever seen before in a Formula One race. Team drivers Fangio, Kling, and Herrmann would qualify 1st, 2nd, and 7th, respectively. Herrmann would go on to set the race's fastest lap while Fangio and Kling would achieve an impressive 1-2 finish. The race marked a resounding victory for Mercedes-Benz on its long-awaited return to racing.
Fangio qualified for the pole position start at the British Grand Prix in late July, but rainy conditions led to a 4th-place finish. The team returned to form at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in early August with a four-car team consisting of three open-wheel cars and one Streamliner. The race marked the debut of the open-wheel iteration of the W 196 R. Fangio earned pole position and would go on to win the race with Kling finishing 4th, each in open-wheel cars. A three-car team, all open-wheel, at the Swiss Grand Prix three weeks later brought nearly identical results, with Fangio again winning and Herrmann finishing 3rd.
At the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit in early September, Mercedes-Benz entered two Streamliners and one open-wheel car after testing indicated that the closed-fender coachwork would be faster. In the race, a young British privateer named Stirling Moss behind the wheel of a Maserati 250F led late in the race 19 laps before retiring due to a cracked oil tank. Fangio in a Streamliner and Herrmann in an open-wheel car respectively cruised to 1st and 4th place finishes. The performance of the talented Englishman likely did not escape the attention of Rudolf Uhlenhaut and Alfred Neubauer.
Two weeks later the W 196 R cars were entered at a non-championship race, the Berlin Grand Prix, which was held at the AVUS circuit. With no points consequence, this was almost strictly a public relations demonstration for an enthusiastic German audience. Three Streamliners driven by Kling, Fangio, and Herrmann cruised to an easy 1-2-3 podium sweep.
At the Spanish Grand Prix in late October, the last race of the year, Fangio finished a team-best 3rd among a contingent of three open-wheel entries. The legend of Juan Manuel Fangio had grown; his second Drivers' Championship was in the books. The sheer and immediate potency of the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Silver Arrow had been established, foiling Ferrari's attempt at a third straight Formula One championship in the process.
In the midst of this immediate show of dominance for the W 196 R, chassis number 00009/54, the car offered here, was completed. Originally finished as an open-wheel monoposto built on the 1954-specification 2,350-millimeter long-wheelbase chassis, and being designated with a 54 in its chassis number suffix (1955 cars have a 55 suffix), the car first began testing on 15 December 1954. For chassis number 00009/54, as well as for the victorious Mercedes-Benz racing team, even greater things were to come in the season ahead.
CHASSIS NUMBER 00009/54 IN COMPETITION: OPEN-WHEEL
For the 1955 season, the W 196 R was further developed to remain as competitive as possible. The engine was improved in numerous aspects, including the addition of a new intake manifold, and the decision was made to run the open-wheel grand prix bodies for almost all of the 1955 races. The revised cars were approximately 70 kilograms (154 pounds) lighter than their predecessors. Further testing demonstrated that the 1954 W 196 R had been significantly compromised by its Continental tires, so the rubber manufacturer was taken to task to deliver a better product, and their development during the off-season was a critical boon for the revised car.
The Rennabteilung again went after top driving talent, recruiting the upstart 25-year-old Brit from Monza, Stirling Moss, to join their stable of drivers. Moss eventually became a well-known celebrity in his own right, and one of the most famous of all the notable British drivers. Though his career would be prematurely cut short by an accident in 1962, he remained a forthright proponent of motorsports and a supporter of the automotive niche throughout his life, even serving as a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz in his twilight years. His lifelong contributions to the sport and Britain's motoring niche were recognized in 2000 when he was knighted by the future King Charles.
But during the early 1950s Moss was still steadily developing as a privateer, an evolution that had begun with his win at the 1950 Tourist Trophy. To the end of securing a spot on the Mercedes-Benz team, in 1953 he bought and raced a true Formula One specification car, the Maserati 250F. Though the 250F was somewhat unreliable in competition, Moss showed considerable promise during several impressive qualifying sessions, and Neubauer took note after the events of the 1954 Italian Grand Prix. By December 1954 Moss was hired and practicing in the W 196 R, familiarizing himself with the car's nuances while marveling at the Rennabteilung's team environment.
Moss later wrote of the Mercedes-Benz team, "Their thoroughness and thoughtfulness amazed me from the very beginning. It was like being in a different world...Every course where the cars raced was analyzed mathematically...Neubauer himself used to mark and time gearchanges, lap after lap...Drivers were listened to and respected, which often doesn't happen on other top teams...Nothing was too much trouble—and they were willing to try anything which might improve performance."
There was no doubt that Mercedes-Benz' commitment had come to fruition in 1954, and it was about to bear further fruit with Moss onboard. It was Fangio, however, that set the winning tone with a victory at round one of the 1955 Formula One season at the Argentine Grand Prix on 16 January 1955. Since the next Formula One points event on the calendar didn't arrive until late May, the team remained in Argentina to conduct some live-action testing during the Buenos Aires Grand Prix, as the Formula Libre race's lack of regulations proved to be a popular testbed for Formula One teams.
The Formula Libre Buenos Aires Grand Prix on 30 January 1955 would mark the first race for the car on offer, chassis number 00009/54, piloted by none other than Juan Manuel Fangio as car #2. According to Rennabteilung build sheets on file, as well as recent confirmation by Mercedes-Benz, chassis number 00009/54 was equipped with a "Sport 59" engine, apparently code for the 3.0-liter M196 engine, and fitted with an open-wheel monoposto body. One of the team's primary objectives for this non-Formula One event was apparently to test this new development of the M196 engine, which was positioned for use in the upcoming W 196 S sports car, the 300 SLR. Moss, Kling, and Herrmann joined Fangio—each racing an open-wheel car.
The Buenos Aires Grand Prix race format was a bit unusual: two separate heats of 30 laps each, with the winner determined by the fastest total aggregate time. While Fangio earned the pole position during a rainy qualifying session, Moss leapt out to lead the first heat. Fangio made his move during the 13th lap, briefly holding 1st place before being overtaken by Giuseppe "Nino" Farina's Ferrari 625, and this order held until the finish line with Fangio 10.5 seconds behind. During the second heat many drivers switched cars, and Fangio initially led before being passed by Moss, who went on to win the heat by three seconds in an exciting finish. Despite finishing 2nd in both heats, Fangio achieved the lowest total time of 2:23:18.9, besting Moss by 11.9 seconds, the 625 Ferrari by over half a minute, and Kling by nearly a minute, thus capturing the win for the Rennabteilung in this important first outing for chassis number 00009/54.
The victory gave Fangio a sweep of that season's races in his native country, having won the Formula One Argentine Grand Prix two weeks prior. The impressive finish at the Buenos Aires Grand Prix was commemorated in-period, with Mercedes-Benz commissioning a beautiful race poster by Anton Stankowski celebrating the 1-2-4 Fangio-Moss-Kling finish.
At the Monaco Grand Prix in late May, Fangio was given a new open-wheel car built on an extra short-wheelbase chassis (2,150 millimeters), and though he qualified for the pole, Herrmann then crashed the car in practice. The team's luck only got worse during the race, where three cars retired early with valve-gear failures and Moss struggled to a 9th place finish.
In June, Fangio and Moss roared to 1-2 finishes at both the Belgian Grand Prix and the Dutch Grand Prix before a number of grands prix were cancelled in response to the recent accident at Le Mans. When action resumed at the British Grand Prix at Aintree in mid-July, the Mercedes-Benz team dominated again, with the experienced home-court veteran Moss leading a four-car contingent to a commanding 1-2-3-4 finish (Moss-Fangio-Kling-Taruffi), the only quadruple victory in marque history.
This set the stage for the season's final contest—and 00009/54's final competition outing: the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in September.
CHASSIS NUMBER 00009/54 IN COMPETITION: STROMLINIENWAGEN
For 1955, the Monza circuit was rebuilt with a new high-speed bank that has since become legendary in motorsport. With this development, the Rennabteilung already knew the course would favor a Streamliner body, despite the fact that they had been running the open-wheel coachwork exclusively up to this point for the 1955 season. During testing at Monza in August, the team experimented with a new protruding nose piece for the Stromlinienwagen, but results were inconclusive. Ultimately, the medium-wheelbase chassis was chosen to be mounted with new length-adapted Streamliner coachwork in the original style, with the exception of a new air inlet next to the hood to feed the canted engine. Two such cars were built at Untertürkheim.
When practice for the race ensued a month later, the medium-wheelbase Streamliner was found to be twitchy at high speeds. Fangio then assumed the use of a spare Streamliner built on an original long-wheelbase chassis from 1954, and Moss quickly requested an identical car, so Neubauer contacted the workshop and ordered a Streamliner to be delivered to Monza as soon as possible. A spare long-wheelbase chassis, number 00009/54, was mounted with a Streamliner body and immediately dispatched to Monza.
Mercedes-Benz would send eight cars, nearly all their running W 196 Rs, to what would be the model's swan song in competitive racing. Of the eight cars sent to the track, four cars were entered by Mercedes-Benz for the race, with Fangio and Moss competing in W 196 R Streamliners and Kling and Piero Taruffi behind the wheels of W 196 R open-wheel monopostos.
This car, chassis number 00009/54, was the aforementioned long-wheelbase Streamliner delivered on request for Moss after the medium-wheelbase Streamliners had been declined by Fangio and himself. Stirling Moss, driving under #16, would pilot chassis number 00009/54 in the race. Fangio would secure pole position, with Moss securing 2nd starting position just three-tenths of a second behind Fangio. Kling would qualify 3rd, and Taruffi 9th; the advantage of the Streamliner bodywork at the fast Monza track was evident.
From the start, Fangio and Moss held their 1-2 start. Moss would take the lead from Fangio in the 9th lap of the race, but it was short-lived, as Fangio would regain the lead in lap 9 and retain 1st position for the remainder of the race. Moss would go on to hold onto 2nd through lap 18, when he was forced to pit to replace the windscreen, dropping him down to 8th by the time he rejoined the race. Moss would climb to 7th but was soon forced to retire due to a failing piston in cylinder five after completing 27 laps. Completing just over half the race, Moss was still able to achieve the race's fastest lap at an impressive 2:46.900 in chassis number 00009/54. His average speed of 215.7 km/h on lap 21, while attempting to make up ground following his early pit stop, earned him one point towards the Formula One Drivers' Championship.
Karl Kling would retire from the Italian Grand Prix shortly after Moss, pulling out of the race with a defective cardan shaft after 32 laps. Fangio would go on to win, tailed closely by Taruffi just seven-tenths of a second behind. The impressive 1-2 finish—a fitting bookend to the W 196 R Stromlinienwagens— triumphant 1-2 victory at their debut outing, the 1954 French Grand Prix at Reims—would not be replicated again by Mercedes-Benz as a constructor for 58 years, with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at the 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix.
At the conclusion of the 1955 Formula One season, Fangio captured his second straight World Drivers' Championship, with Moss finishing 2nd, sealing the W 196 R Silver Arrow's legend in the process. Moss, meanwhile, had captured two World Sportscar Championship victories in the 300 SLR, including his storied win at the 1955 Mille Miglia in the #722 car with co-driver Denis Jenkinson. This proved to be enough to edge out Ferrari for a narrow championship victory in sports car racing. Significantly, the 300 SLR, internally designated the W 196 S, was the two-seat sports car development of the W 196 R; the 300 SLR benefitted from a larger 3.0-liter motor, the likes of which had been proven in chassis number 00009/54 in Buenos Aires.
The W 196 R's pedigree was now unimpeachable. In two seasons the model had won three championships in two different racing series. In 12 appearances at Formula One points events the W 196 R had won a commanding nine times, and it won two additional non-points races, totaling 11 victories in 14 starts. This 78 percent represents an incredible winning rate by any measure. It is also important to note that the World Constructors' Championship had not yet been created; had it existed, Mercedes-Benz surely would have won this title, as well.
AT THE END OF AN ERA
Having demonstrated that they could dominate on the track Mercedes-Benz chose to make a graceful exit once again from motor racing after 1955, bowing out for the next few decades—and further ensuring that the remarkable legend of the W 196 R would never be forgotten.
At the conclusion of 1955, 10 different complete W 196 R examples remained in running order, including four with Stromlinienwagen coachwork. Fourteen chassis had been built in total, designated with numbers 1 to 15. (Chassis numbers 1 and 15 were eventually scrapped, and number 11 was never actually assigned to a chassis.) In October 1955, Mercedes-Benz held an official ceremony to retire the W 196 R, publicly shrouding the cars in dust sheets before transferring them to the company's museum in Stuttgart. Following the completion of its competition duties but prior to being stored, chassis number 00009/54 had been—in keeping with common post-race procedure—partially dismantled and equipped with a new engine, among other items. While the Daimler-Benz Museum initially retained all 10 remaining W 196 R examples, four cars were eventually donated to prestigious museums around the world, including chassis number 00009/54.
The post-racing path of chassis number 00009/54 was set in motion in September 1964, when a contingent from the Mercedes-Benz Club of America visited the marque's Untertürkheim plant in Stuttgart. As detailed by a wealth of correspondence on file, during this visit, a conversation ensued between the club's Wilhelm "Bill" Spoerle and the manufacturer's Dr. -Ing Friedrich Schildberger about donating a race car to the "planned new museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway."
A German immigrant who once worked in NSU's motorcycle racing division before the war, Mr. Spoerle had moved to Indianapolis in 1956 to work on racing cars, taking a position at the nascent Dreyer Motorsports for several years. Eventually lured away by Anton "Tony" Hulman Jr. in 1963, Spoerle became the Restoration Manager at the relatively new museum at the Brickyard. By the time of Spoerle's visit to Untertürkheim he was already working for Tony Hulman, and he surely realized there could be no better place for a W 196 R donation than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.
Tony Hulman was a typical example of one of motorsports— classic archetypes—the colorful business-savvy impresario who has arrived at racing rather late in life and by accident, but is bitten by the bug and comes to love it. From Terre Haute, Indiana, Hulman was the scion of a fortune built on an eponymous grocery distribution business. He worked his way up through the family business, eventually becoming president in 1931, while excelling in imaginative marketing approaches such as the ad campaign for the firm's Clabber Girl baking powder.
The Brickyard had fallen into a surprising state of disrepair by late 1941 when racing was canceled after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the war, the track's owner, former World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker, was content to sell the circuit to whomever might want it, for any use at all. But former three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Wilbur Shaw was adamant that the Brickyard should only be sold to someone intending to keep it open for racing. After searching high and low, Shaw found Hulman, who officially purchased the speedway in November 1945, and quickly set about renovations for the planned 1946 Indianapolis 500, the first post-war edition of the legendary race. Hulman continued to regularly improve the course over the years, while notably founding the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation, a separate non-profit organization created in part as the financial/business facade for the new IMS Museum.
As Mercedes-Benz president Walter Hitzinger and chief engineer Dr. Nallinger explained in a March 1965 letter to Hulman, "In view of the special significance of Indianapolis in the history of automobile racing and also in particular view of our own company's contribution, we have now decided to give you a 2.5 litre streamlined car, Type W 196, built in 1954, as a gift for exhibition in your museum." Mercedes-Benz had a tie to America's greatest race, having won the race in just its fifth running in 1915 when Ralph DePalma drove a Mercedes to victory in what proved to be one of just a handful of Indianapolis 500 wins for a European manufacturer.
Dr. Schildberger set about re-commissioning the W 196 R so that it could be driven during an official presentation at the Brickyard, which was planned for the weekend of the 1965 Indianapolis 500. For this exhibition, Mercedes-Benz ordered 50 gallons of Esso (Exxon) racing fuel to be delivered. The Stromlinienwagen was shipped through the port of Baltimore in late April and trucked to Indianapolis.
Officially donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation on Sunday, 30 May 1965, the Mercedes-Benz made two appearances during the weekend. The first came at an informal presentation after the annual driver's meeting, where the car was demonstrated by Peter DePaolo in honor of the Mercedes victory 50 years earlier by his uncle, Ralph DePalma. The following day DePaolo again took the wheel before Monday's feature race, after the car had officially been presented to the IMS Museum by Mercedes-Benz.
LIFE IN RETIREMENT
For almost six decades, the W 196 R has been fastidiously stored and maintained by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, occasionally being invited to attend important exhibitions, such as the 1996 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, the 2003 Canadian International AutoShow, and the grand re-opening of the redesigned Petersen Automotive Museum in December 2015. The car participated in the first Velocity Invitational (then called Sonoma Speed Festival) event at Sonoma Raceway in 2019, and it was then shown at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance once again in 2020.
The W 196 R has been displayed at the IMS Museum periodically, including the 2020-2021 "From the Vault" exhibition; when not on display, it was part of the Basement Collection VIP tours of the Museum's vehicle storage location. From July 2022 to January 2023, chassis number 00009/54 was again shown at the Peterson Automotive Museum as part of the "Andy Warhol: Cars — Works from the Mercedes-Benz Art Collection" exhibit. Most recently, it was part of the Mercedes-Benz display at the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. In the interest of a true educational mission, however, the car has never been submitted for judging at concours events.
The Streamliner has been treated to two mild bouts of sympathetic freshening during its more recent lifetime, first undergoing a refinish in the correct DB 180 Silver Metallic in 1980, with race #16 in white roundels, as per the 1955 Monza livery when driven by Stirling Moss. In late 2015, in preparation for its display at the Petersen Museum, the car received a second refinishing of the coachwork by the esteemed experts at Canepa Motorsports in Scotts Valley, California, and it continues to be a startling testament to the brilliance of the Stromlinenwagens at Monza.
There is no small irony in the fact that this W 196 R has spent so many decades in the care of the IMS Museum. For at the end of the 1955 season, according to motoring historian Karl Ludvigsen in his book Mercedes-Benz: Quicksilver Century, some minds at Mercedes-Benz wondered how the model might fare in the Indianapolis 500. Initial research and development calculations were undertaken to create performance projections. But after these initial calculations were made, the pursuit was dropped in the face of anticipated high costs and a lack of pure necessity. The W 196 R had achieved everything it was built to do; no further campaigning was necessary. Its shocking form, however, inspired a number of Indianapolis 500 hopefuls—perhaps most notably Jimmy Daywalt and the Sumar Special—to incorporate elements of its streamlined design into their own cars for 1955.
It should now be very evident that chassis number 00009/54 is a diamond of extraordinary cut, emitting a brilliance that is almost impossible to fathom. The car is one of just 14 chassis built, and it is believed to be one of just 10 known complete examples surviving at the conclusion of the 1955 Formula One season. Of those, this example was one of only four mounted with the magnificent Streamliner coachwork at the conclusion of the 1955 Formula One season. It was an integral component of the factory racing campaign that saw Mercedes-Benz capture two Formula One Drivers' Championships in as many attempts, and one World Sportscar Championship during the same period.
Further driven to victory by Fangio at the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, and to the fastest lap by Stirling Moss at the 1955 Formula One Italian Grand Prix at Monza, this W 196 R had been piloted by two of history's most famous and accomplished racing drivers. Following one of the most successful competition campaigns imaginable, the car was retired to the stately in-house collection of Mercedes-Benz before being donated nine years later to the equally respected Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, whose collection includes some of the finest racing cars the world has ever seen.
Chassis number 00009/54 represents only the second W 196 R ever offered for private ownership, and the sole example offered with the magnificent Streamliner coachwork. Presented in its proper Monza livery from the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, and documented with a trove of period materials, chassis number 00009/54 has moreover never been formally presented for judging or driven in any vintage events; it should experience a rapturous welcome at any of the major events for which it is eligible. Ideal for display at flagship concours d'elegance like Pebble Beach or Villa d'Este, the magnificent W 196 R will surely also experience great acclaim at significant marque events worldwide. Note that after many years of static display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, chassis number 00009/54 will require careful recommissioning prior to starting or driving.
The future caretaker can take pride in ownership of a bona fide competition legend that is one of Formula One's most successful models ever, bar none. Absolutely astonishing in every respect, from its advanced, powerful engineering and truly singular coachwork to its remarkable history—driven by two of the biggest names in motorsports, this W 196 R Stromlinienwagen is a gem without parallel. It now awaits the expected ardor of Formula One enthusiasts, dedicated marque collectors, and lovers of the all-but-unobtainable—sure to redefine our very understanding of what is possible.
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The RM Sotheby's auction preview at the Monterey Conference Center was a delight!
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We saw so many great vehicles and sights during Monterey Car Week!
Union Square, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
Summary
The Union Square Savings Bank, originally the Institution for the Savings of Merchants' Clerks, was built in 1905-07 to the designs of Henry Bacon in a bold and monumental Academic Classic style popularized by the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. It is his largest and best-known bank commission. The Union Square Savings Bank enjoys a prominent position on the east side of Union Square at the corner of East 15th Street, and Bacon's design accentuates its prominence with a freestanding portico supported on four giant Corinthian columns and a monumental entranceway behind the columns. It was also an unusual work for Bacon, who specialized in the design of public monuments and is best known for having designed the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., completed in 1923. The bank building remains largely intact on the exterior.
The Development of Union Square
The Commissioners Map of 1807-11, which first laid out the grid plan of Manhattan above Houston Street, allowed for certain existing thoroughfares to retain their configuration. Bloomingdale Road , and the Bowery intersected at 16th Street. The acute angle formed by this "union" was set aside by the Commissioners and named Union Place. Initially Union Place extended from 10th to 17th Streets, on land owned by the Manhattan Bank:
It then presented to the eye of the tourist and pedestrian a shapeless and ill-looking collection of lots, where garden sauce flourished -- devoid of symmetry and around which were reared a miserable group of shanties.
In 1815, the state legislature reduced the size of Union Place by making 14th Street its southern boundary. As the City expanded northward and land use intensified, the need for open spaces became apparent. A report drafted by the street committee in 1831 states the need for public squares "for purposes of military, and civic parades, and festivities, and ... to serve as ventilators to a densely populated city."3 Designated a public space in 1832 at the urging of local residents, additional land was acquired so that the area could be regularized. Graded, paved, and fenced, Union Place was finally opened to the public in July 1839. Throughout much of its history, the square has been used for public gatherings, political rallies, and demo nstrations.
By the 1850s, Union Square was completely surrounded by buildings including some of the city's most splendid mansions; but "already by 1860, the dramatic march of commerce had begun."4 Theaters, hotels, and luxury retailers predominated in the 1870s. By the 1890s, the vestiges of the fashionable residential area, as well as the elegant stores and theaters, had been supplanted on Union Square by taller buildings that catered to the needs of publishers and manufacturers who had moved uptown.
The Union Square Savings Bank stands prominently on the northeast corner of Union Square East and East 15th Street. The bank, originally called the Institution for the Savings of Merchants' Clerks, moved to this location in 1868, during a time when the area was being transformed from a residential to a commercial district. In 1905-07, the newly renamed Union Square Savings Bank replaced the older building with the present structure.
The Union Square Savings Bank
Originally located at 5 Beekman Street and later at 516 Broadway, the bank was founded in 1848 as the Institution for the Savings of Merchants' Clerks, by members of the New York Chamber of Commerce and the Mercantile Library Association, including prominent merchants William H. Macy and James G. King, to "encourage the clerks of business men to take care of their earnings."
The bank purchased a Greek Revival row house on the northeast corner of Union Square East and East 15th Street in 1867. After adding a mansard roof and new frontispiece to the row house, the bank moved its operations there the following year. In 1904, the bank successfully petitioned the Supreme Court of the State of New York for permission to change its name to the Union Square Savings Bank, claiming the former name was no longer suitable to an institution that "draws its depositors from all classes in the community, and not alone from merchants' clerks."
The petition also noted the bank's long presence on Union Square and its intention to construct a new bank building there as proof of its commitment to the Union Square area and as a further justification for the name change.
Banks and Architectural Imagery
As industry, business, and commerce prospered after the Civil War, New York became the nation's financial capital. Apart from a few imposing buildings on Wall Street, however, banks were for the most part located in converted residences, or in office buildings, but prior to the 1880s and 1890s, rarely in quarters designed for them. Property values being so high in the financial district, many commercial banks began to build office buildings, conducting business on the ground floors and renting revenue-producing office space above.
Savings banks, many of which catered to small private investors, were, in contrast, generally not located in the Wall Street area; therefore, taking advantage of less expensive real estate, they were able to build monumental bank buildings for their exclusive use, many on corner sites.10 Savings banks proliferated in the 1890s. Among them were the Greenwich Savings Bank, designed by Robert W. Gibson ; the Bank for Savings at East 22nd Street and Fourth Avenue, designed by Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz ; the sumptuous Bowery Savings Bank, designed by McKim, Mead & White ; and R.H. Robertson's New York Bank for Savings at Eighth Avenue and 14th Street . The last two are designated New York City exterior and interior landmarks.
This trend continued after the turn of the century. In 1909, the Architectural Record published a lengthy, illustrated survey, in which the author invoked the ancient Greek and Roman temples -which also served as the banks -- as ancestors to the modern type; the recent banks, however, had evolved due to "the marvelous growth of modern consumerism."11 The illustrations attest to the pervasiveness of the classical bank type, about which the author states, "The effect of the structure must be one of great importance and simplicity. It must make on the depositors the impression of being a perfectly safe place to leave their money and valuables."
This bank imagery developed, not only as the result of economic conditions, but also in response to the resurgence of the neo-classical style, what has been termed Academic Classicism. American architects, influenced by the principles of the French Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the popularity of the "Great White City" -- the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago -- turned to the interpretation of Renaissance and neo-Classical prototypes. In part, Academic Classicism was popularized as a means to create an architecture characterized by order, clarity, and sobriety, qualities considered appropriate to the democratic ideals of the expanding nation, and particularly appropriate to the design of banks and public institutions. In making historical associations, American architects drew parallels between their own culture, the American neo-classical past, and the enlightened Greco-Roman and Renaissance civilizations.
Design and Construction
The Institution for the Savings of Merchants' Clerks had already occupied its prominent corner site at 20 Union Square East since 1868 when it acquired the adjacent lot and commercial building at 22 Union Square East in 1895. This purchase allowed the bank to increase its frontage on Union Square East from 27 to 52 feet, while maintaining a 125-foot depth along 15th Street. Both buildings were later demolished to make way for the new banking quarters.
The bank first revealed its intention to erect a new building on the site in the successful 1904 petition to the State Supreme Court permitting the institution to change its name. In October of 1905, Real Estate Record and Guide announced that architect Henry Bacon has been commissioned to draw up the plans for a new 25 foot by 100 foot, two-story banking house to be faced in marble.
The December 1905 issue of Architecture, however, published the rendering of the accepted design, which appeared to be of a somewhat larger building than that described earlier in the Record and Guide.
The application filed with the Department of Buildings by the architect confirmed that the new building would be four stories in height with a 52 foot by 125 foot footprint, including both the 1868 building and the prev iously-purchased, adj ace nt lot. In addition, the projected cost of the larger building increased to $275,000 from $ 150,000 and the facing material was changed to granite.
Builder Marc Eidlitz began construction of the building on May 1, 1906, and completed it on March 7, 1907.
The May 1907 issue of Architecture published a photograph of the completed structure, which varied very little from the rendering published seventeen months earlier. The well-proportioned design of the building reflects the gravity and importance of the Union Square Savings Bank's financial operations by employing the monumental, classical type. The bank building is well-suited to its neighborhood environment, while embodying the Beaux-Arts clarity of function and structure.
Henry Bacon
Henry Bacon , the architect of the Union Square Savings Bank, is chiefly associated with his monumental public work, especially the design of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., finished the year before his death. Bacon's career, however, encompassed a whole range of building types including private homes, libraries, and banks.
The son of an old Massachusetts family, Bacon was raised in Wilmington, North Carolina, and educated at the Chauncey Hall School in Boston. After a year at the University of Illinois, he returned to Boston where he began his architectural training with the architectural firm of Chamberlain & Whidden. Soon he left that office for New York where he entered the firm of McKim, Mead & White. Bacon traveled for two years in Europe in 1889-91 on a Rotch Travelling Scholarship, a coveted honor, then returned to McKim, Mead &
White where, as McKim's principal assistant, he worked on the firm's designs for the 1 893 World's Columbian Exhibition. He was also largely responsible for the firm's Rhode Island State Capitol. The stylistically-influential Bowery Savings Bank was also designed by the firm during Bacon's time there.
In 1897 Bacon left the McKim, Mead & White firm and joined with a colleague there, James Brite, to form the firm of Brite & Bacon. Laurel Hill, a mansion in Columbia, South Carolina; plans for the American University in Washington, D.C.; and the design of the Jersey City Public Library, won in competition, were all early commissions of the firm.
They designed several private houses in New York City, such as the neo-Jacobean No. 3 East 76th Street, in the Upper East Side Historic District, and several houses, now demolished, on Fifth Avenue before their partnership was dissolved in 1902.
Bacon established his office in the Mohawk Building, 160 Fifth Avenue. Many other prominent architects also had offices there.
The ideals of the City Beautiful movement which grew out of the World's Columbian Exhibition are apparent in much of Bacon's urban work. He designed some 50 memorials and monuments in conjunction with prominent sculptors such as Augustus St. Gaudens and Daniel Chester French, with whom he designed the Lafayette Memorial in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.
In conjunction with Karl Bitter, Bacon designed the monument to Carl Schurz which rises above Morningside Park at West 116th Street. Bacon also designed the cast-iron lamp posts for Central Park in 1907. His commissions for buildings reflect the ideals of his monumental works and his commitment to classicism adapted to the requirements of various building types. The Union Square Savings Bank represents the adaptation of his classicism to a commercial program and the New York City grid pattern. This was Bacon's largest bank design and one of his largest overall designs before the Lincoln Memorial.
Description
The former Union Square Savings Bank is a flat-roofed, four-story building, rising sixty feet on the northeast corner of Union Square East and East 15 th Street. The building is set on a concrete base and has brick foundations. Its structure consists of brick walls and piers, with steel girders and cast-iron columns supporting the upper floors. The fireproof banking floor rests on segmental arches of terra cotta with concrete filling. The building is clad in Troy white granite.
Union Square Facade. The principal facade fronts Union Square East. It major feature is the monumental portico, with granite steps; four fluted, Corinthian columns supporting the entablature and parapet; and a coffered ceiling. The frieze is embellished with carved wreaths surrounding a beehive, the symbol of savings banks, and incised letters with the original bank name, currently obscured by a modern sign. The cornice has dentils, egg and dart moldings, and carved faces of lions, which are aligned above each column.
The parapet wall is comprised of a solid central section with incised lettering of the year of the incorporation of the original bank in Roman numerals. It is flanked by balustrades and solid walls at the ends of the facade. The wall immediately behind the portico contains a large vertical entryway with a surround featuring an egg and dart molding on three sides and a surmounting cornice. Immediately to the left of the entrance is incised, gilded lettering: "Union Square Savings Bank, formerly the Institution for the Savings of Merchants' Clerks, incorporated April 12, 1848."
The wall is framed by corner piers and flat, Corinthian pilasters aligned with the end columns of the portico. The existing entryway infill, which consists of plate glass doors with polished aluminum frames topped by a grid of opaque glass with a center medallion, was installed in 1961 and is not a significant feature of the building.
East 15th Street Facade. The East 15th Street facade, enframed by broad corner piers and a continuation of the principal facade's entablature and parapet, is divided into five bays by flat pilasters with Corinthian capitals. Each bay contains a vertical window opening filled with geometrically-patterned windows with bronze frames.
Above each window is a carved panel featuring swags and medallions, except for the easternmost bay in which a window was cut into the panel sometime after the building's completion. The frieze also contains incised lettering of the bank's name. A door opening is located in the base below the easternmost window. In addition, wrought-iron fences, which match the geometrical patterning of the windows above, were placed at the base of the building below the window sometime after construction. They remain extant.
Subsequent History
In 1923, the State of New York passed the branch banking bill, permitting savings banks to open branches for the first time, and the Union Square Savings Bank began operating branches around the city, but it kept its headquarters in the Union Square building.
In 1937, the architectural firm Voorhees, Gmelin & Walker designed new banking counters and a penthouse addition, which is set back and not visible from the street. The janitors' apartments were also converted into office space at that time. In 1955, a four-story extension containing offices and garages was built on the rear along 15th Street on an adjoining lot purchased by the bank several years earlier. While situated on the same block and lot as the designated structure, this later addition is not significant and is not part of this designation.
In 1961, the building's interior was again modernized and a new front entrance was installed at a cost of $150,000, designed by B.L. Smith from the architectural firm Voorhees, Walker, Smith & Hanes. In 1968, the Union Square Savings Bank merged with the Kings County Savings Bank to form the United Mutual Savings Bank, with the Union Square building continuing to serve as a branch office of the new bank.
In 1982, the financially ailing United Mutual Savings Bank was purchased by the American Savings Bank, which was itself declared insolvent and closed by New York State banking regulators in 1992 as a result of bad commercial real estate loans. The building at 20 Union Square East has remained vacant since then.
- From the 1996 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report
La pauvre borne qui arrêtait pas de redémarrer son application ..
Le compteur indiquait que c'était le 570ème redémarrage de l'application .. c'est pas une vie d'être une borne velib' à Paris !
My first configurations box... I created this for my older sister as a birthday gift. She loves the beach, but now lives land-locked so I thought it would be a nice reminder for her. I used a variety of real shells, paper from the DCWV "Tradewinds" stack, acrylic paint, various TH products (mini spinner and crackle paint) and some miscellaneous charms from a dear friend (thanks, Zoe!). The lighting for these photographs is terrible so I don't think they do this project justice. It will sound conceited, but this was way more beautiful in real life. LOL.
The Mona Lisa is actually a Kleenex. I will be adding them to my swap packages for awhile. I love the wooden hand with the coin from St. Maarten (Netherlands Antilles). The seahorse is one of my original designs. The blue "anchor" is the logo of Royal Caribbean cruise lines. The travel charm I made for swapping on the ship. I also made the sunset charm. The wooden turtle came from a straw market on St. Thomas. The sunrise and sunset photos I took while on the ship. The bit of "fishy" dictionary text came from one of Tim's packages (his products all had neat paper packaging included).
Leica M6 TTL. 7 Artisans 50 mm f 1.1. Tri-X pulled (100 ISO).
HC-110. Epson Film Scanner
April 16, 2020
In 2012 we received from NASA an order for 6 new models of International Space Station. NASA requested to modify our current model in order to represent the latest changes and additions to ISS so the model will depict the most current and updated configuration.
The foam lining in the transit cases for modified models was adjusted accordingly to accommodate the models and new separate elements.
Along with the order of 6 modified models for NASA we also produced one model in luxury edition for CERN, which was shipped to Geneva, Switzerland and receive excellent feedbacks for its accuracy and versatility.
Visit www.lifeinscale.net/ISS_model-2012_configuration.asp for more information.
The final-configuration Boeing 2707 mockup was sold to a museum and displayed at the SST Aviation Exhibit Center in Kissimmee, Florida, from 1973 to 1981. In 1983, the building, complete with SST, was purchased by the Faith World church. For years the Osceola New Life Assembly of God held services there with the airplane still standing above. In 1990, the mock-up was sold to aircraft restorer Charles Bell, who moved it, in pieces, to Merritt Island, in order to preserve it while it waited for a new home as the church now wanted the space for expansion. The forward fuselage was on display at the Hiller Aviation Museum of San Carlos, California, for many years, but in early 2013, was moved back to Seattle, where it is undergoing restoration at the Museum of Flight.
The Boeing 2707 was an American supersonic passenger airliner project during the 1960s. After winning a competition for a government-funded contract to build an American supersonic airliner, Boeing began development at its facilities in Seattle, Washington. The design emerged as a large aircraft with seating for 250 to 300 passengers and cruise speeds of approximately Mach 3. It was intended to be much larger and faster than preceding SST designs such as Concorde.
The SST was the topic of considerable concern within and outside the aviation industry. From the start, the airline industry noted that the economics of the design were questionable, concerns that were only partially addressed during development. Outside the field, the entire SST concept was the subject of considerable negative press, centered on the issue of sonic booms and effects on the ozone layer.
A key design feature of the 2707 was its use of a swing wing configuration. During development the required weight and size of this mechanism continued to grow, forcing the team to start over using a conventional delta wing. Rising costs and the lack of a clear market led to its cancellation in 1971 before two prototypes had been completed.
From Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_2707
Photo by Eric Friedebach
- Easy configuration and operation of micro systems with TAM Assistant software thru a multi-channel accessory interface.
- TAM IV thermostat will accommodate multiple accessory interfaces for maximum throughput and flexibility.
- Up to eight (8) identical or different accessories connected and controlled thru one accessory interface for unmatched flexibility.
- Easy configuration of syringe pumps and stirring controls for titration ampoules.
- Peristaltic pump or mass flow controller ensures reliable flow for liquid or gas perfusion.
- New three (3) channel voltage I/O accessory card for applying or measuring voltage from user configurable probes (pH, O2, etc.)
Breathing new life into what's old. These chairs were formerly orange, vinyl, and dated. I really love what a local upholsterer did to them, and it was so much cheaper than buying new chairs.
Crop from a NASA PR document about the first test flight of the Orion capsule. This illustration shows the various components of the first flight.
With his Barrels Speeder, default config. Only tweak made was taking out his foot rests and placing his knife on the side for easy access.
I need to spend some time thinking of innovative speeder configurations, also I'd like to paint his weapons so they have more life than that flat gray color allows them.
Ordinarily, I have a two system setup. The mouse and keyboard are plugged into the Vista machine (right screen), and controls the XP machine (left screen MBP17) through the Synergy keyboard/mouse virtual switch. I can move the mouse cursor from one screen to another, just like a dual-head system.