View allAll Photos Tagged configuration
Configuration of 35 ton Leibher Auk 80 60 ft mode The main mast extended to 100ft & the boom was 85 ft My Brother Tony and I tramped this all over the country.
Configuration: one or more sets of Bitzer semi-hermetic screw compressor with economizer; water cooling way (air cooling or evaporative cooling is also suitable for special condition.)
Focusun is the world leader in ice making, chilling and refrigeration systems.
More information on Focusun website: www.chinaicemachine.com
or: http:/www.facebook.com/focusun
Lab Purpose: Master frame-relay multi-point sub-interface
configuration.
Click the below links to view the complete lab configuration.
Microsoft Office Configuration Analyzer Tool (OffCAT) is a very powerful and useful troubleshooting tool, which can help us to detect + solve issues related to Microsoft Office products such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, etc.
In this, article would like to emphasize...
Lab Purpose: Master ppp one way authentication configuration for pap.
Lab Requirement: R2 is the ppp authentication server, R1 and R3 are
clients.
Click the below links to view the complete lab configuration.
Lab Purpose:
Master EIGRP basic configuration
Master EIGRP MD5 Authentication Configuration
Click the below links to view the complete lab configuration.
This is an interesting hollow cube configuration. It wasn't very difficult to make but I haven't seen one like it before.
The open configuration auditorium is located on the west side of the dome. The presentation area of the auditorium is sunken into the ground at the basement level. The remainder of the auditorium is surrounded on three sides by glass walls that maintain views to the surrounding buildings. It seats 253 and is ADA-accessible.
The auditorium is configured with a roll-down screen and projector, and a flexible sound and voice enhancement system to accommodate the advanced multimedia presentations. An interior balcony located on the south side provides space for additional seating and adds to the dynamic nature of the auditorium. Full-height curtains can be drawn across the glass wall during lectures and presentations to darken the room and provide acoustical dampening. When the curtains are open, a sliding panel opens up to views of the sunken garden at the west end behind the podium. Fixed seating is located on the incline of the dome while the flat area to the west of the dome has flexible seating. This flat area can also be isolated with large curtains and used as a classroom, critique room, exhibition space, or boardroom.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The McDonnell Douglas MD-70 was a series of single-aisle short-haul and regional airliners. Already in August 1973, Douglas launched a new 70-seat regional airliner project, the Model 2066, to fill the gap between turboprop-powered airliners such as the Hawker Siddeley HS.748 and the Fairchild-Hiller/Fokker F.27 and small jet airliners such as the company's own DC-9 and its rival, the Boeing 737. The chosen configuration had a fuselage very similar to the DC-9, but it featured a high, only moderately swept wing with a bigger area and a T-tail to give good short-field performance. The aircraft was to be powered by four turbofan engines in the 6,500 lbf thrust class. In October 1974, all work on the project was halted, as a result of the 1973 oil crisis and the ensuing global economic downturn.
Nevertheless, MDD believed in the concept and low-key development proceeded. In 1978, after economic recovery, MDD officially relaunched the project under a new label as the “MD-70”, a smaller alternative to the re-branded an upgraded MD-80, which had become a mid-sized airliner with almost twice the passenger capacity of the original DC-9-10/20 series. MDD marketed the aircraft as a quiet, low-consumption, turbofan aircraft, which would be effective at replacing the previous generation of turboprop-powered feeder aircraft like the Fokker F27, which was quite popular among regional American airlines and about to reach its life span.
The first type of a planned aircraft family with different cabin sizes, achieved by modular extensions. The basic MD-71 model made its first flight on October 18, 1979, quickly followed by two more prototypes. The MD-71 was certified on August 25, 1980. By 1981, an assembly line had been completed at St. Louis, Missouri and the first MD-71 was delivered to launch customer Canadian Pacific Air Lines on September 13, 1981, which introduced it into commercial service on October 10, 1981.
MDD promoted the MD-70 as a dedicated "feederliner" for regional short-haul duties, especially for remote areas with smaller airfields and for operations in harsh climatic conditions. The airframe of the aircraft and many other key areas were modeled as closely as possible after the DC-9/MD-80 to save costs and use equipment and maintenance synergies with its bigger brethren. The airframe was designed to be as simple as possible, with easy access from the ground, and with a good margin of sturdiness. Making the aircraft easy to maintain and keeping operators' running costs as low as possible were considered high priorities from the start of the design process. Factors such as design the internal use of firm cost targets and continuous monitoring became a vital asset for the type’s success. MDD also adopted a system of cost guarantees between component suppliers and the operators of the MD-70 to enforce stringent requirements.
As a consequence the MD-70 was a conservative construction and featured only a low amount of composite material, used in parts of the secondary structure only. Initial production aircraft were outfitted with a conventional cockpit and manual flight controls. Both the fuselage and wing were carefully designed for a reduced part-count and complexity. A high-mounted wing was adapted with an uninterrupted top surface. Compared with the DC-9 the MD-70 wings had less sweep (only 20° at quarter-chord vs. 24°) but were deeper for more area to promote shorter take-off distances and a slowed landing speed, both important factors for operations from small regional airports. The low undercarriage of the aircraft was toughened to resist damage and stability, making it possible to operate the MD-70 even from rough airstrips. The engines' position under the high wings, with good ground clearance to avoid FOD, were also helpful for this operational task.
The MD-70 was powered by four Avco Lycoming ALF 502 turbofan engines with thrust reversers, which were fixed on pylons underneath the aircraft's high wing. Advantages of adopting the four-engine configuration included greater redundancy and superior takeoff performance from short runways, as well as in hot and high conditions. The aircraft had full-width wing spoilers, which were deployed immediately on landing and drastically reduced lift for steep landing angles on short runways.
Another factor that favored the four-engine layout was the single engine’s small size, which made maintenance and handling at small workshops with limited space and equipment in remote areas easier than bigger and heavier engines. Electrical power was primarily provided by generators located on each of the outboard engines. For independent operations, the MD-70 had a highly fuel-economic APU (at launch, the onboard auxiliary power unit consumed only half the fuel and weighed only a third as much as other contemporary models) and a retractable stairway under the aircraft’s tail as well as an integrated retractable ladder at port side for direct boarding from the airfield.
With its small turbofan engines, the MD-70 was renowned for its relatively quiet operation, a positive feature that appealed to those operators that wanted to provide services to noise-sensitive airports within cities. This was primarily achieved using geared turbofans, because the gearbox allowed the fans’ blade tip speed to stay below the speed of sound, dramatically reducing the aircraft's noise. Other sound-deadening measures included a high bypass ratio compared to contemporary aircraft and additional sound-damping layers built into the engine itself.
The aircraft proved to be most useful on "high-density" regional and short-haul routes, but its good range and fuel economy made it also suitable for low-volume routes at medium to long distances. In economy class, the MD-70 could either be configured in a standard five-abreast layout or a high-density six-abreast layout, making it at its time one of few regional jets that could use a six-abreast layout in economy class. The first variant, the MD-71, had an overall length of 108.5 feet (33,12 m), a fuselage length of 95.75 feet (29,23 m), a passenger-cabin length of 60 feet (18.29 m), and a wingspan of 89.6 feet (27,36m).
The MD-71’s cabin offered space for 90 passengers in a dense 15 row all-economy layout, but 72 passengers in 12 rows with more space, also for hand-held luggage, were more common, with a typical mixed-class layout with 12 first and 60 economy-class passengers. Reportedly, the aircraft was profitable on most routes with only marginally more than half the seats occupied.
A passenger/cargo version of the MD-71, with a 136-by-81-inch (3.5 by 2.1 m) side cargo door forward of the wing and a reinforced cabin floor, was certificated on March 1, 1983. Cargo versions included the MD-71MC (Minimum Change) with folding seats that could be carried in the rear of the aircraft, and the MD-71RC (Rapid Change) with seats removable on pallets.
Two stretched MD-70 versions followed soon: The first flight of the MD-72 with a 7 ft 11 in (2,41 m) fuselage extension and reduced cost per seat mile occurred on 3 September 1982, with deliveries commencing in 1984. Convertible passenger/freight versions (MC and RC) were available, too, and seated 80 passengers five abreast, 96 six abreast or 112 in high-density configuration.
The MD-73’s fuselage was to be stretched by 10 ft 6 in (3,2 m) compared with the MD-71, allowing 122 passengers to be carried at 32-inch seat pitch and 134 at 29-inch seat pitch. More powerful engines would be used, and winglets were to be fitted to the aircraft's wingtips. However, due to airlines favoring a lower initial price rather than minimizing seat-mile costs, and fearing over-capacities, the MD-73 did not enter production and was eventually dropped altogether in December 1988, also because simpler narrow body jet airliners like the Embraer ERJ family with even lower operational costs were entering the market.
The MD-71 and -72 were widely used for passenger services in Canada and North America, primarily with regional/domestic airlines, and from the late 1980s also in Australia until the early 2000s. One of the prime American operators was Ozark Air Lines, a regional airline that had been founded in 1943 to fly services from Springfield, Missouri. Ozark's introduced its first jets in July, 1966 with the Douglas DC-9-10s. The DC-9-10s were later augmented with McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30s (DC-9-31/32) and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-40s. The airline also ordered two Boeing 727-200s but never took delivery.
In 1984, larger McDonnell Douglas MD-80s were added that replaced the old/smaller DC-9s. In late 1980, Ozark retired its last FH-227 prop aircraft and went all jet with an all DC-9/MD-80 fleet, which was then augmented by new MD-71s for connections with several smaller cities including Burlington, Fort Dodge, and Mason City in Iowa, Decatur, Marion, and Quincy in Illinois, and Cape Girardeau, Missouri. A total of twelve machines were operated.
In the mid-1980s Ozark and TWA had a de facto duopoly at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, a hub for both. Ozark accounted for 26.3 percent of boardings at STL in 1985, while TWA accounted for 56.6 percent. On March 1, 1986, the two airlines announced plans to merge: TWA would buy Ozark for US$242 million in cash (equivalent to US$646 million in 2022). Shareholders of both airlines approved the merger by late summer, and the United States Department of Transportation gave its approval on September 12, 1986. Ozark ceased to exist as an independent company on October 27, 1986. The Ozark DC-9/MD-80/MD-70s were gradually painted with a modified paint scheme with "TWA" in the tail. Over the next couple of years, the sixty Ozark airplanes were repainted in the TWA livery. On December 1, 2001, TWA was merged into American Airlines.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2 (+ 2 or 3 flight attendants)
Length: 108.5 feet (33,12 m) overall
95.75 feet (29.23 m) fuselage only
Wingspan: 89.6 feet (27,36m)
Height: 27 ft 7 in (8,4 m)
Wing area: 1,448 sq ft (135.7 m²), 20° sweep
Empty weight: 56,530 lb (25,640 kg)
Maximum take-off weight: 97,500 lb (44,225 kg)
Maximum payload: 25,970 lb (11,781 kg)
Fuel capacity: 12,901 L (3,408 US gal)
Cabin width: 123 in (312 cm)
Two-class seats: 72 (12F@38" + 60Y@34")
Single-class seats: 90@34" (maximum pure economy setup)
Powerplant:
4× Avco Lycoming ALF 502L turbofan engines, delivering 7.500 lbf (33 kN) each
Performance:
Maximum speed: Mach 0.739 (426 kn; 789 km/h)
Cruising speed: Mach 0.7 (404 kn; 747 km/h)
Range: 3,340 km (1,800 nmi) with 90 passenger configuration
Service ceiling: 35,000 ft (11,000 m)
Rate of climb: 2,000 ft/min (10 m/s)
Take-off run at MTOW: 1,535 m (5,036 ft)
Landing run at normal landing weight: 1,270 m (4,170 ft)
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional airliner was inspired by a Fly 1:144 DC-9-20 kit which I had bought as basis for another what-if project. This kit (and I assume many other Fly DC-9s) is basically a DC-9-30 and came with the shorter -20 sprue as well as with resin wing tip extensions. I had a surplus DC-9 fuselage!
When I thought about the ideas for my DC-9-20 project, locating it in Canada, I wondered if the DC-9 could be turned into a kind of "bush airliner", like the BAe 146/Avro RJ 85 - with four small engines, high wings and reduced passenger capacity?
With the "Re-engine" group build at whatifmodellers.com in mid-2023 I used the opportunity to take this idea to the hardware stage. This conversion, however, became a major kitbashing stunt, since I only had the DC-9-30 fuselage, but no wings, engines, or even a landing gear.
Work started with two cuts in front of and behind the original wing root fairings to reduce the overall length to the short DC-9-20 fuselage (the respective parts in the Fly kit were very helpful!). Since it was clear that the wings would be mounted high the landing gear had to go somewhere, so that I added bulged fairings (wing tip tank halves from an Airfix BAC Strikemaster, IIRC) to the wing roots and covered the slits in the fuselage that held the original low wings. PSR helped to blend everything into each other.
The wings and stabilizers had to be procured elsewhere, and I fell back onto the cheap Mistercraft Sud Aviation Caravelle kit (a re-boxing of a Sixties kit!), which is a rather primitive thing but good enough for a chop job like this. The stabilizers were taken OOB, just adapted to their new home at the fin tip. The wings were reduced in span at their roots and beveled to achieve a better hold on the round DC-9 fuselage, and their tips were cut for a less rounded shape.
The Caravelle wings were directly glued onto the fuselage, and then started the long and tedious work to build a dorsal section between them that would house the common wing spars above the passenger cabin. Took five or six PRS turns.
The engines came from a Revell 1:144 SpaceShipTwo/WhiteKnightTwo kit set - a gigantic box with lots of air inside, available at a reasonable price. The four engine pods on pylons were taken OOB, they only had to be tailored slightly to fit under the rather flat Caravelle wings.
From the WhiteKnightTwo I also procured the main twin wheels and their struts, while the twin front wheels were taken from the Caravelle, mounted on a shortened strut for lower ground clearance.
A styrene tube as a display adapter was inserted into the fuselage for the eventual flight scenes, and the nose section was filled with lead weight to ensure a proper stance on all wheels at once.
Painting and markings:
A potential operator caused me some headaches. I originally favored a Canadian company, either CP Air or a fictional one, but to avoid duplicity with my DC-9-20 project I eventually "allowed" other options, too, and when I found that Karaya from Poland, who print the decals for all of Fly's DC-9 incarnations, offered the respective sheet separately and I stumbled across the Ozark Air Lines Sheet (with options for a DC-9-20 or a -30) for late machines in the mid-Eighties before the company's sale to TWA, I short-handedly settled upon this livery. Despite some major challenges, like a white hull and trim in areas not fully available on the high-wing MD-70 fuselage.
The completed model received a coat with a highly opaque white acrylic paint from the rattle can, then the lower fuselage and the wings were painted in RAF Light Aircraft Grey (Humbrol 166). A narrow green-white cheatline decal was used to define the lower waterline, then came the windows to define their relative position and the 'Ozark' tags. The broader green cheatlines behind them - running through the wing roots - were tough to create, though. I initially considered to omit them altogether but found that the aircraft would lack corporate ID and eventually created them step-by-step.
The original decals were cut in length to fill the spaces before and behind the wings, down to the tail, with the plan to achieve a mutual lower line. Then I painted the light green area under the wing roots and cut the thin white and dark green part of the trim off and connected the lower line from the sections in front of and behind the wings. This worked better than expected, despite the uneven underground in that area. But the high wings and the engine pods hide most of it, anyway, and the overall impression is quite good.
To add some variety I painted the wing tips in bright red and flaps and leading edges in aluminum. Unlike the real Ozark DC-9s the radome tip became black (emphasizing the aircraft's DC-9 ancestry), and I added a black anti-glare panel (a decal for a 1:144 DC-8, but it is a perfect match) in front of the windscreen.
Another design element that caused some headaches were the engine pods: I thought about painting them in aluminum/NMF first, then in white (with some trim from surplus decals), but eventually went with dark green, as a contrast to the white and light grey fuselage.
Finally, the model was sealed with semi-gloss acrylic varnish (Italeri) and the wheels were mounted.
A challenging build, but I think that the outcome looks pretty plausible, despite the tiny engines. However, instead of the BAe 146 the aircraft rather reminds me of a juvenile C-141 Starlifter, probably due to the wings and tail shape?
Lab Purpose: Master RIPV2 basic configuration, watch the auto
summarization of RIPV2, master how to change RIP timer.
Lab Requirement: The whole network should be reachable by ripv2
Click the below links to view the complete lab configuration.
Lab Purpose: Master ppp one way authentication configuration for chap.
Click the below links to view the complete lab configuration.
I think Don Kelly IS listed as the emergency catcher, but really, that should never come to pass. Alex Avila For Life.
The front grill can be attached to his shoulder or on his chest. The handlebar can be attached to the back for a minifigure to hold on/
Alex Rosal (far left) looks on while Jayson Orebia (in black) configures the pico station. Also in the picture are Joven Edurice (center), Vhonn Quiles (right) and Julian Modesto III (back).
Date: Feb. 26, 2014
Place: Barangay Calogcog, Tanauan, Leyte
Photo by: April Mercado
Sculpture Description:
"The Configuration of Time
Mexico
In respect of reality and the perception of each one of us, the sculpting project has the composition elements of optic effect as part of our human perception. A want or need to perceive time and history is realized in the sculpture as a simple issue - human relationships, that change according to our context of space, time and from person to person."
Awards:
Honorable Mention Prize
ILock - Anti Theft Lockscreen est une application pour Android qui possède un système de blocage fonctionnant au moyen d'un code numérique de déverrouillage d'écran -
Lab Purpose: Master frame-relay point to point sub-interface
configuration.
Lab Requirement: Enable frame-relay point to point sub-interface on
R1 to solve split horizon issue.
Click the below links to view the complete lab configuration.
Made by Norma Schlager, Danbury, Connecticut. A quilt in the Art-Abstract, Small category in Quilts: A World of Beauty at the International Quilt Festival, Houston.
Clipping from a fashion magaizne in a collector's tray, made from scratch using chipboard and paper ... and lots of glue!
Blogged here.
One potential fusion power reactor design is called field-reversed configuration (FRC), a linear reactor concept based on an especially stable plasma vortex that is held together with its own internal currents and magnetic fields.
It is formed from the merger of two simpler vortices that are fired from each end of the reaction chamber by plasma guns. Beams of fresh fuel coming in from the side keep the FRC hot and spinning briskly.
Image description: Simplified graphic shows a long metal tube with inward facing guns at each end; each gun has fired a hot plasma vortex toward the center, which also has a hot plasma vortex.
Related graphics:
Magnetized target reactor: Thermonuclear fusion reactor design concept
Magnetic confinement: Tokamak and stellarator thermonuclear fusion reactor design concept
Inertial confinement fusion: Thermonuclear fusion reactor design concept
Nuclear fusion power plant diagram
Fusion fuel types: How nuclear fusion works
Explore related content in Knowable Magazine
Scientists have been chasing the dream of harnessing the reactions that power the Sun since the dawn of the atomic era. Here is an overview of the challenges that every fusion reactor has to overcome, and a look at some of the best-funded and best-developed designs for meeting those challenges.
https://knowmag.org/NuclearFusion_Flickr
Nuclear goes retro — with a much greener outlook
Returning to designs abandoned in the 1970s, start-ups are developing a new kind of reactor that promises to be much safer and cleaner than current ones.
https://knowmag.org/NuclearRetro_Flickr
When nuclear goes retro | Things to Know
VIDEO: Old becomes new as nuclear start-ups take another look at using liquid nuclear fuel as a safe alternative to conventional nuclear reactors
https://knowmag.org/NuclearRetroVideo_Flickr
Take a deeper dive: Read more in the Annual Review journals
The Future of Low-Carbon Electricity(Annual Review of Environment and Resources)
Fusion is a breakthrough technology that — if successful — could become an important addition to the emerging ecosystem of low-greenhouse-emitting power sources such as wind, solar and nuclear fission.
https://knowmag.org/LowCarbonElectricity_EG42
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I like the idea of bringing back hanging straps but these seem to be an experimental idea on this test car and had many different configurations.
Comparison between PowerMac G3 and G5
End of 2004 - Update configuration
PowerMac G3 -> PowerMac G5 + PowerBook G4
Calvin is infamous for constantly changing his desktop configuration. This week's fad is a newly installed keyboard tray and an external monitor hooked to his MacBook Pro. He uses VMWare Fusion to run openSUSE.
At very low tide. Yeah, the horizon is tilted, the problem with doing a quick handheld pano. But I wanted to document the new sandbar configuration and liked the patterns in the water...
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!
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