Rudolf Uhlenhaut and the Mercedes-Benz W 125 racing car

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Rudolf Uhlenhaut and the Mercedes-Benz W 125 racing car

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Created on July 23, 2012

Text:

Martin Schröder

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Copyright Daimler AG

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Archiv Daimler AG

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Archiv Martin Schröder

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Andy Howson

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Daimler AG

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Archiv Martin Schröder / Kurt Woerner

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Archiv Bernhard Brägger

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Klaus Justen

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Spitzley Archive

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Archiv Martin Schröder / Foto Woerner

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Goodwood Festival of Speed - John Colley

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - this is how the 750 kg formula car looks today

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - front view of the racing car

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Rudolf Uhlenhaut during test drives on the Nürburgring in 1951

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (1953) - Uhlenhaut in front of the coupé named after him

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Neubauer, Uhlenhaut, Brauchitsch and Caracciola at the 1937 German Grand Prix

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Mercedes-Benz W 154 (1938) - Uhlenhaut at the Nürburgring on the guts of the W 154

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1938) - Transparent drawing of the Mercedes-Benz of the 750 kg form

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Drawing by Carlo Demand

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Rudolf Caracciola at the Coppa Acerbo in Pescara on August 17, 1937 - the championship photo by George Monkhouse

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - the front of the field at the German GP on July 25, 1937 - Lang ahead of Caracciola, followed by Rosemeyer and Müller on Auto Union

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Hermann Lang at the pit stop during the German Grand Prix on July 25, 1937, finishing seventh

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Pit stop at the Nürburgring during practice at the 1937 German GP

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - seen during training for the German Grand Prix - engine tilted slightly backwards, resulting in a low cardan shaft

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - De Dion rear axle, trailing arm and torsion bar suspension

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Brauchitsch at Donington

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Mercedes-Benz W 25 (1936) - Winner Caracciola at the 1936 Monaco GP

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Swiss Grand Prix in Bremgarten on August 22, 1937 - the later winner Caracciola with starting number 14

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Swiss Grand Prix in Bremgarten on August 22, 1937 - the later winner Rudolf Caracciola

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Grand Prix of Tripoli in Mellaha in 1937 - Loading the Mercedes-Benz onto a ship

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Manfred von Brauchitsch takes second place at the Coppa Acerbo in Pescara on August 15, 1937

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Monaco Grand Prix on August 8, 1937 - Winner Manfred von Brauchitsch in front of the second Caracciola in the Loews curve

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Start of the Vanderbilt Cup on Long Island on July 5, 1937 - Caracciola with No. 12, the later winner Rosemeyer with No. 4

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - demonstration drive by John Surthees at the Hockenheimring in 1987

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Mercedes-Benz W125 (1939) - Hermann Lang on a Mercedes at the start of the 1939 Grossglockner mountain race in Ferleiten

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - at the Vienna High Road Race on June 11, 1939, with Manfred von Brauchitsch at the wheel

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Christian Kautz in the Mercedes-Benz W 125 at the 1937 Swiss Grand Prix in Bremgarten

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Mercedes-Benz W125 (1937) - elegant monoposto - Goodwood Festival of Speed 2012

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Jochen Mass at the wheel of the Mercedes Silver Arrow

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Jochen Mass prepares for the start

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Mercedes W 125 (1937) - when the steering wheels were even bigger

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Bernd Schneider on Mercedes W 125 (1937) at the Klausenrennen 1993 - 8-cylinder, 5662 ccm, 592 hp, approx. 320 km/h

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - during demonstration drives with Bernd Schneider

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - during demonstration drives with Bernd Schneider

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - during demonstration drives with Bernd Schneider

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - during demonstration drives with Bernd Schneider

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - during demonstration drives with Bernd Schneider

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - during demonstration drives with Bernd Schneider

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - during demonstration drives with Bernd Schneider

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - during demonstration drives with Bernd Schneider

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Summary

After the debacle with the W25 in 1936 and the lessons learned, Rudolf Uhlenhaut built a winning car for 1937, the W 125, which took full advantage of the 750 kg formula. This report describes how Uhlenhaut joined the racing team, what his contribution was and how the famous W 125 came into being, illustrated with many historical and current pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

The W 125 as Uhlenhaut's journeyman's piece
From the SSK to the 750 kg Formula Grand Prix car
New design needed for the new formula
Dominance of the Silver Arrows
The 1936 German Grand Prix goes to Auto Union
German Grand Prix 1936 and the consequences
Uhlenhaut shows up
Two different types of drivers
Paradigm shift in racing car development
Birth of the W 125
The W125 as an integrated system and winning vehicle

Estimated reading time: 15min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The fate of employed engineers and designers is that they take a back seat to the big name of their company, sometimes they are not even publicly known, but are usually quickly forgotten. Or does anyone still remember Walter Bruch, the inventor of the PAL system for color television, or Pierre Fenaille, who patented the Tracta joint in 1926, the basic design of the homokinetic joint that is the prerequisite for the smooth running of today's standard front-wheel drive? The name Ernst Fuhrmann, designer of the four-camshaft engine in the 356 Carrera and in early racing sports cars at Porsche, is only known to those interested in history.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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