Press Release
Page 1: Overview
Page 2: Mercedes & Mclaren
Page 3: History
Page 4: Specifications
It came, it saw and it conquered: the powerful Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR race car took the chequered flag in its very first competitive outing, winning the legendary 1000-mile race in a record time of ten hours, seven minutes and 48 seconds back in 1955. At an average speed of 157.65 km/h, Stirling Moss and his co-pilot Denis Jenkinson recorded the fastest ever time for the Mille Miglia race ??????????????????????????????????????? a record which remains unbroken to this day. Second place was taken by Juan Manuel Fangio in what was a glorious double for Mercedes-Benz and the new 300 SLR. Further successes would soon follow.
Brescia, May 1, 1955. As day breaks, the engines roar to life on the Piazza della Vittoria in the heart of the city in northern Italy. There are just a few minutes to go until the start of the 22nd Mille Miglia, the world's most popular road race. By today's standards, the race is absolute folly: the participants charge at break-neck speeds from Brescia to Rome and back ??????????????????????????????????????? a distance of 1000 miles ??????????????????????????????????????? on public roads! A gruelling test of endurance for man and machine in every respect.
The new Silver Arrows from Stuttgart-Untert??????????????????rkheim line up at the start right on cue. Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Karl Kling and Hans Herrmann are at the wheel of the four Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR race cars which are celebrating their world premiere in Italy. "It will be a race of records", promises Mercedes-Benz team manager Alfred Neubauer. And Stirling Moss, the 25-year old making his debut for the Mercedes team, calls out "I'll win" in a display of youthful nonchalance.
Both prove to be right. On the very first section between Brescia and Verona, Hans Herrmann achieves a breathtaking average speed of 192.23 km/h. By the time the cars pit in Rome, Stirling Moss and his co-pilot Dennis Jenkinson have opened up a lead. They started at precisely 7.22 a.m. ??????????????????????????????????????? hence the car's start number. Then Kling has to throw in the towel following an accident, while Herrmann bows out near Florence with a defective petrol tank. But "Moss is just incredible", comments Alfred Neubauer, "he's risking life and limb and has the heart of a lion." With the utmost concentration, the Brit negotiates the final few miles at the wheel of the 300 SLR with start number 722. Moss and Jenkinson go on to win the 1000-mile race in a record time of ten hours, seven minutes and 48 seconds, equivalent to an incredible average speed of 157.65 km/h ??????????????????????????????????????? yet another record which still stands to this day. Juan Manuel Fangio finishes in second place.
Just four weeks later, at the end of May, the SLR repeats its triumph in the Eifel race at the N??????????????????rburgring, with Fangio finishing first this time and Moss in second. With a total of five victories, the 300 SLR is the most successful racing car of the 1955 season.
Eight cylinders courtesy of Formula 1
Racing car development was inspired by a Mercedes-Benz model that, like the SLR, lined up for the first time at Mille Miglia in 1952: the 300 SL with its distinctive "gullwing" doors. The road-going version celebrated its premiere in February 1954. Although the light yet high-strength tubular steel frame concept was lifted from the 300 SL, the 300 SLR differed in many respects and included, for example, an aluminium body, a five-speed transmission, 16-inch wheels and larger brakes.
Above all, however, the SLR race car had a much higher output than its younger brother, the 300 SL, thanks to an eight-cylinder in-line engine with direct petrol injection and dual ignition, lifted from the 1954 Formula-1 race car. For the 300 SLR, the displacement was increased from 2.5 litres to 3.0 litres, thus boosting the power output to as much as 310 hp at 7400 rpm, depending on the intake manifold system, while the peak torque of 317 Nm at 5950 rpm made for superlative pulling power. The powerful engine was installed horizontally at an angle of 33 degrees relative to the vehicle's longitudinal axis. At that time, most race cars started with 167 litres of fuel and 35 litres of oil on board. At Mille Miglia in 1955, Moss and Jenkinson had as much as 265 litres of fuel in the tank.
Sir Stirling Moss autographs the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR 722
50 years after his legendary victory at Mille Miglia in the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR with start number 722, Sir Stirling Moss and his car were reunited again at the scene of his triumph. At vehicle clearing for the 23rd Mille Miglia Storica on May 19, 2005 at 2.00 p.m., he signed the top left of the car's bonnet with the following message:
"We did it together, many thanks and affection. Ciao, Stirling Moss".
To rapturous applause, Sir Stirling drove the car across the start line at 9.40 p.m. on the same day and, after a lap of honour around Brescia, made way in the driver's seat for Jochen Mass. The brief appearance of the 300 SLR 722 here in 2005 was its last at Mille Miglia as it moved to its permanent home in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart-Untert??????????????????rkheim in May 2006.
