The Mercedes-Benz W125 “Rekordwagen” is a Mercedes-Benz racing car, developed in the late 1930s and setting two world records on a public road on January 28, 1938 for the maximum average speed per kilometer and for the aviation mile [1] , which It was only beaten in November 2017 by the Koenigsegg Agera R S and amounted to over 440 km / h [2] [3] .
| Mercedes-Benz W125 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Manufacturer |  Mercedes-Benz | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years of production | 1937 - 1938 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class | Racing car | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other designations | "Rekordwagen" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Weight | 832.79 kg | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Designer | Max Seiler Albert hayes Max Wagner Rudolf Ulenhout | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The main difference from the race car, which took part in the Grand Prix and limited in this regard by weight to 750 kg, was in the power unit. The regular version was equipped with an eight-cylinder engine M125, while on the "Rekordwagen" set the engine in the configuration V12. In addition, unlike the Grand Prix version, the new power unit was significantly lower, which made it possible to reduce drag.
Currently the car is in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart , Germany [1] .
Content
History
Built in 1937 by German engineer Rudolf Uhlenhout to participate in various competitions, the Mercedes-Benz W125 generated 595 horsepower thanks to its 8-cylinder in-line engine, which accounted for exactly one third of the weight of the entire car. During the tests, it turned out that the engine, working on a mixture of methanol and benzene, is capable of producing even more power - the peak figure was almost 640 liters. with. at 5800 rpm. Even at 2000 rpm, this motor generated almost 290 horses. During tests in 1937, the Mercedes-Benz W125 reached a top speed of 300 km / h.
The Mercedes-Benz W125 "Rekordwagen" model is a development of the 1937 Mercedes-Benz W125 "Formel-Rennwagen" model. Thanks to design changes, the power was increased to 725 horsepower [4] . It was on this car that the world speed record was set on public roads. In 1938 , after making further changes to the rules and regulations of the Grand Prix, the car stopped meeting the requirements. The Mercedes-Benz company was forced to replace it with the Mercedes-Benz W154 model. Nevertheless, the W125 was considered the fastest and most powerful racing car for another 30 years from the time it was developed, until the American V8 engines reached similar performance levels.
Description
Body
The design of the body model has been given much attention. The W125 “Rekordwagen” has a flat, fully enclosed body structure with a wedge-shaped, tapered tail (imitation of a drop of water). Using measurements in the wind tunnel [5] , the company's engineers reduced the drag coefficient to a sensational (for its time) Cd value of 0.157 [1] [6] . This was made possible, in particular, through the use of a radically reduced air intake in the front of the car (two small holes).
Characteristics
Car specifications are as follows:
- Engine: MD 25 DAB / 3 60 ° V12 [1] .
- Engine placement: front longitudinal.
- Gas distribution mechanism : DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder.
- Engine capacity: 5577 cm³ (82 × 88 mm) [1] .
- Compression: 9.17: 1.
- Power: 541 kW (736 hp. [1] [6] ) at 5800 rpm.
- Transmission : 4-speed manual transmission .
- Weight: 832.79 kg.
- Cooling system: radiator with built-in 500-liter container filled with ice and water [1] .
Record
On January 28, 1938, Rudolf Caracciola , driving a Mercedes-Benz W125, reached a speed of 432,698 km / h over a distance of one kilometer on the Frankfurt - Darmstadt highway [1] [6] [7] [8] [9] . Re-run in the opposite direction showed a speed of 432.36 km / h. For comparison, the 2012 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport's speeds up to 431 km / h. The record was broken in 2017 with the Koenigsegg Agera R S. sport car.
Notes
- 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Mercedes-Benz W 125 record-breaking car: 432.7 km / h - a world record for 75 years (Eng.) . Daimler AG media (January 2013). The appeal date is August 14, 2015. Archived February 15, 2017.
- ↑ Igor Vladimirsky. Koenigsegg Agera RS: five high-speed records per day . Autoreview (November 7, 2017). The date of circulation is November 8, 2017. Archived November 8, 2017.
- ↑ Vijay Pattni. The Koenigsegg Agera RS has has five speed records (English) . Top Gear (07-11-2017). The date of circulation is November 8, 2017. Archived November 8, 2017.
- ↑ Grand Prix Cars - Mercedes-Benz W125 (Eng.) . Grand Prix History. The appeal date is August 14, 2015.
- ↑ Gianni Rogliatti. Great Collectors' Cars. - 1st ed .. - Smithmark Pub, 1973. - p. 100-102. - 318 s. - ISBN 978-0448019147 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Kevin Hackett. One land speed record remains unbeaten after 75 years, set on a public road in a Mercedes-Benz (Eng.) . The National (February 1, 2013). The date of circulation is February 15, 2017. Archived February 15, 2017.
- ↑ Mike Hanlon. 75th anniversary of the Mercedes Benz W125 Silver Arrow - 595 bhp and 750 kg in 1937 // Gizmag. - 2012.
- ↑ Reuss, Eberhard. Hitler's Motor Racing Battles: The Silver Arrows under the Swastika / Trans. Angus McGeoch. - Somerset: Haynes Publishing, 2008. - p. 314-315. - ISBN 978-1-84425-476-7 .
- ↑ Pressetext Hersteller. Der ewige Weltrekord: Caracciola erzielt 432.7 km / h auf der Autobahn (German) . Prova (03/18/2004). The date of circulation is December 29, 2015. Archived on February 11, 2013.
Literature
- Dmitry Lavrenov. Rudolf Ulenhout: the man who built the Silver Arrows // Wheels: magazine / online version. - 2016. - January 31st. Archived February 15, 2017.