Mercedes Benz SSK and SSKL - Or: how the holes got into the chassis

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Mercedes Benz SSK and SSKL - Or: how the holes got into the chassis

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Created on December 1, 1983

Text:

Stefan Knittel

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

3

Archiv Daimler AG

41

Bruno von Rotz

6

Balz Schreier

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Michael Alschner

1

Archiv

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1930) - Rudolf Caracciola wins the Irish Grand Prix on July 19, 190

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - with 170/225 hp

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - in the version for sports car racing with windshield, mudguards, headlights and spare wheels - part of the Mercedes-Benz Museum

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - View into the engine compartment

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - massive steering wheel to control the powerful and heavy car

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - Fuel filler cap

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Mercedes Benz SSKL (1931) - the lightening holes in the chassis are clearly visible

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Mercedes Benz SSKL (1931) - 300 hp thanks to a supercharger that is always running

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Mercedes Benz SSKL (1931) - consistent lightweight construction and plenty of power

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Mercedes Benz SSKL (1931) - originally called SSK model 1931 - 125 kg less justified the "L" for "Light"

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1929) - sports car with 160/200 hp, built until 1932

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Mercedes Benz SSKL (1931) - two spare wheels on board for long-distance races

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - Chassis with the engine behind the front axle

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - the SSK is created by shortening the S chassis by 45 cm using the engine from the SS - "K" for "short"

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1930) - 225 hp with supercharger maximum output

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - with 170/225 hp, built between 1928 and 1932

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - equipped with two spare wheels for long-distance journeys

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - as a sports car

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Mercedes Benz SSK Cabriolet A (1928) - Bodywork by Papler

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Mercedes Benz SSK Cabriolet A (1928) - Bodywork by Papler

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - factory version

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1929) - built between 1929 and 1930 - 250 hp maximum output

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Mercedes Benz SSK Cabriolet A (1930) - Luxury sports car for the price of a home

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Mercedes Benz S Kompressor (1927) - as an open-top touring car

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Mercedes Benz SS Cabriolet A (1931) - Bodywork by Castagna

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - with powerful 7.1 liter six-cylinder engine

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - M 06 engine with compressor

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - M 06 engine with compressor

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1932) - Brazilian Grand Prix on February 28, 1932 - Hans Stuck wins in a new record time

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Mercedes Benz SSKL (1931) - Rudolf Caracciola wins the Tratra hill climb in a Mercedes

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Mercedes Benz SSKL (1932) - Hans Stuck at the Brazilian Grand Prix on February 28, 1932 - record time

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1931) - Rudolf Caracciola at the Avus Race in Berlin on August 2, 1931

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1931) - Rudolf Caracciola and Wilhelm Sebastian at the start of the 1931 Mille Miglia

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1931) - Rudolf Caracciola at the Avus race in Berlin in 1931

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Mercedes Benz SSKL (1932) - Manfred von Brauchitsch with streamlined body as winner of the Avus race in Berlin on May 22, 1932

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1931) - Crossing the finish line by the winners Caracciola/Sebastian at the 1931 Mille Miglia

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1931) - Rudolf Caracciola and Wilhelm Sebastian cross the Appenine at the Mille Miglia 1931

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1929) - Start of the 1929 Monza Grand Prix against tough competition from Maserati

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Mercedes-Benz SSK (1928) - in the Brook Stevens Collection

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Mercedes-Benz SSK (1928) - 7.1 liter displacement, 6 cylinders, 170 to 225 hp

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Mercedes-Benz SSK (1928) - restored in the Nettelstadt Car Museum

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Mercedes-Benz SSK (1929) - around the year 1980

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Mercedes-Benz SSK (1930) - at an auction in Geneva in 1973

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For the rich and beautiful the red 500 K in the background, for the sporty the white SSK in the foreground - Mercedes-Benz Museum

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1928) - at the Roßfeldrennen 2013

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1931) - at the Klausenrennen 2013 in the regularity classification

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1931) - at the Klausenrennen 2013 in the regularity classification

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Mercedes-Benz SSK 720 (1929) - at the Saalbach Classic 2013

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Mercedes-Benz SSK 720 (1929) - at the Saalbach Classic 2013

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Mercedes Benz SSK (1929) - Racing Legends at the Classic Days Schloss Dyck 2013

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Impressions of the Classic Days at Schloss Dyck - Mercedes Benz SS and SSK in the paddock

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Outside left: The white Mercedes-Benz SSK (1928) with Jochen Mass at the wheel - ADAC Eifelrennen 2013

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Mercedes-Benz 710 SSK (1929) - participant in the race for the Brookland Trophy at the Goodwood Revival 2012

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Mercedes-Benz SSK (1928) - at the Grossglockner Grand Prix 2012

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Summary

At the beginning of the 1930s, Mercedes Benz engaged in works racing disguised as private outings. The Mercedes Benz SSKL, which could be recognized by its perforated chassis, was created as a racing car. This report provides an insight into the history of the SSKL and its brother SSK, explaining their differences and characteristics. Many historical pictures illustrate the unusual design and its successes.

This article contains the following chapters

The one-man private works team
The works car for "private use"
Stuck follows Caracciola
The streamlined version
The development history of the SSKL
From the "S" to the "SSK"
More power for the racing engines
With lightening bores to the "SSKL"
Even then, a major rebuild was carried out
SSKL production figures
The stories about the "works cars"
Mysteries and astonishing finds

Estimated reading time: 9min

Preview (beginning of the article)

It's not just the holes in one of the most famous automobile chassis that made racing history - but there has always been so much discussion about those holes that legend and reality have often merged. The circumstances that led to Daimler-Benz AG ceasing racing operations at the end of 1930, which have already been explained many times, left one of Germany's most famous men unemployed: Rudolf Caracciola. It had been foreseeable that the world economic crisis would also affect motorsport ... Race director Alfred Neubauer was one of those who regretted the Untertürkheim reorganization the most. He feared that his protégé Caracciola would move to Alfa Romeo, and he pulled out all the stops to prevent this. Don Alfredo" succeeded in concluding a special agreement with his company whereby Caracciola was to be supported as a "one-man team" in the 1931 season. This was officially presented as a private assignment. But the vehicle made available to him would be a works car.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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