Three-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen and I have one thing in common. It doesn’t mean bringing out talent. clearly. No, what Max and I have in common is that we both had to drive in tight formation behind Bernd Maylander.
Maylander, an F1 safety car driver, took off the wheels of his Mercedes-AMG GT R and Aston Martin Vantage during a full-course yellow at a grand prix, drifting around turns and hitting curbs as Verstappen and other F1 drivers followed. He is a man who can often be seen bouncing back and forth. , complained to the race engineer that the tires were cold and losing grip. He had no such complaints as he followed Bernd up and down the winding Bernina Pass outside St. Moritz, Switzerland. He kept the diesel-powered van at the perfect pace and position, allowing me to drive in tight formation in a Mercedes-Benz 300SL. Gullwing.
And the photos looked great too.
Yes, Maylander was driving a Mercedes-Benz V220d with the photographer responsible for the photo of me driving a gorgeous gullwing. But this was just a job filler for the unrestrained Germans. The next day, I was supposed to be behind the wheel of a Gullwing in the opening event of the International St. Moritz Automobile Week, the 1.6-mile Kilometer Lance on the runway at Engadine Airport, and he had swapped it for a Gullwing. The one-of-a-kind 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Streamliner, based on the most iconic and desirable supercharged 540K roadster of pre-war Benzes, and his second place in the 24-hour race in 1989 Sauber Mercedes C9 sports prototype Le Mans.
The 300SL has long been one of my hero cars, as it was arguably the first supercar in the modern sense of the word. This sports car stood out on its pedestal with extremely brilliant performance and stylish dignity compared to its contemporaries. Its direct ancestor was designed by legendary Mercedes engineer Rudolf Uhlenhout in the early 1950s, racing to victory in grueling endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Mexico’s spectacular Carrera Panamericana. This is his car, a W194 coupe. The deep side sections of the 300SL’s intricate tubular steel frame, inspired by his W194, dictated the distinctive door design that gave the car its Gullwing nickname.
There is also a connection with America. The idea for this car was brought up by Mercedes-Benz’s American importer, Max Hoffmann, at a board meeting in Stuttgart in 1953. Hoffman told board members that enthusiasts, made wealthy by America’s postwar economic boom, would be willing to pay top dollar. For Mercedes-Benz, bred in racing, they were able to hit the road and supported his boast by ordering 1,000 cars. In fact, Americans purchased 80 percent of his 1,400 Gullwings built by 1957. Famous owners included actor Clark His Gable.
Driving a hero isn’t always easy
Like any old car, the 300 SL is a little intimidating at first. Especially when you consider how much one of these things is worth. However, you quickly get used to its quirks and shortcomings. And it reminds me that back in the day, I was really involved in driving cars.
This Gullwing is one of several owned by Mercedes-Benz Heritage and has covered many hard and fast miles, with at least six Mille Miglia markings on the grab handle on the left side of the dashboard. The vehicle inspection sticker for re-driving is hanging. This is why the four-speed all-synchromesh transmission, which has a very mechanical shift feel, is noisy in first, second, and third gears.
But the 3.0-liter single-overhead-cam inline-six with Bosch mechanical direct injection is surprisingly responsive and incredibly flexible. It redlines at 6,000 rpm, which is amazing for his 1954 six-cylinder street engine. According to the speedometer shift points, it’s fast enough to get this Gullwing. This Gullwing is equipped with his 3.25:1 differential, which is the best of his four differentials available. , it reaches about 44 mph in first gear, 75 mph in second gear, and 168 mph in third gear, the top speed of a 1954 Corvette.
Given enough autobahns, Mercedes would allow the engine to be tuned to 6,400 rpm, the equivalent of 161 mph in fourth gear, making the Gullwing arguably the world’s fastest production car at the time. super car.
Cutting-edge supercar engineering has come a long way since the 300SL’s drum brakes and recirculating ball steering. The steering is heavy, especially when going through tight corners at low speeds, and there’s a lot of play on center. However, the brakes are strong and the well-placed pedal makes heel-and-toe easy on downshifts.
The Gullwing is apparently difficult to drive at the limit, its swing-axle rear suspension prone to unwanted camber changes mid-corner, and how much fuel splatters in the 26.4-gallon gas tank that juts out the back. As a result, its characteristics became even more unpredictable. Rear wheel. But when you take the Gullwing off the lead, you don’t intend to attack the corners. A kilometer lance is a simple standing start acceleration run.
Sprint on a gullwing at St. Moritz Automobile Week
The International St. Moritz Automobile Week was originally held in 1929 and 1930 and consisted of a series of events including standing start sprints, driving skill contests, competitions, and a hill climb up the nearby Bernina Pass. This was in many ways an early edition of Monterey Car Week, and local businessmen reimagined the event when Switzerland finally eased its ban on motorsport events imposed in 1955 in 2022. This is a fact that did not escape the attention of the group. The aftermath of the horrific accident at Le Mans that killed over 80 spectators.
The event is still in its infancy, and in terms of organization and commercialization, think back to Monterey Car Week 30-40 years ago. That means this event has a unique character, but its understated nature is very appealing. The friendly chaos of signing in the day before the Kilometer Lance was attended by a wide variety of cars, from a two-owner (from new) 1894 Benz Velo to his screeching 1,001 horsepower Aston and his Martin Valkyrie. That made it even more fun.
Among the participants are cars from Spain, including an original steel-bodied ’32 Ford Highboy, a hand-built 1930s-style racer with a supercharged prewar Lincoln V-12 engine, and a replica of a 1939 Porsche Type 64. Also included was a group of hot rodders. This streamliner was built from scratch by a man who restored his one of his two originals (he drove 400 miles from Vienna to attend the event) .
Other eye-catching machines included an oily 1924 Delahaye 107 racer. This was just a chassis with his 6.2-liter air-cooled four-cylinder engine from the Tiger Moth biplane, and it looked as if it had been made for the episode.episode of road kill. Nearby is the bubble-topped Jaguar XK120, which established Jaguar’s reputation for building fast sports cars in 1953 when it hit 172.4 mph on a closed road near Jabeke, Belgium. And directly across the paddock stood Munsch’s mammoth TTS-E from the 1970s. This motorcycle is a hand-built German motorcycle that was powered by a 1.2-liter air-cooled NSU car engine, making it the most powerful and fastest motorcycle in history at the time.
I raced a little Porsche Type 64 with Maylander in a 540 K Streamliner. His two cars were designed to compete in the 1939 Berlin to Rome race (a race that was canceled due to the outbreak of World War II), and ran side by side for the first time. Time till now. “On the first run, I forgot that you have to hit the gas hard to activate the supercharger,” he says as the blower starts up with its trademark scream and the huge Mercedes picks up speed. He laughed when he saw it.
Then I got into the gullwing.
It started clean off the line, keeping the revs around 3,000 rpm. As the tach needle swung toward his 6,000-rpm redline, the engine felt freer and the car settled into the effortless gait typical of all great supercars. medium speed. I shifted carefully at 5,500 rpm, and by the time I crossed the line the speedometer needle was flashing at the equivalent of 195 mph and the engine was still pulling like a train.
I’ve driven faster cars, and I’ve driven cars that were more intense. But his session on the winding Bernina Pass and his full-throttle run on the Kilometer Lance on a gullwing are among the highlights of my career behind the wheel. They say you should never meet your hero. they are wrong.About 20 years ago, as the editor-in-chief of a British magazine. car In a magazine, I ran a cover story that put the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing at the top of the list of the 100 coolest cars of all time. It’s still there.