What does a red 300 SL Roadster have to do with Rudolf Uhlenhaut?
It's always great to see that our readers also like to contribute and share their knowledge with us in their comments. No one can always know everything about every car and every model, so we are always happy to receive any corrections. In our report on the Kilomètre Lancé , a red Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster associated with Rudolf Uhlenhaut caused some confusion. But this can easily be cleared up:
In the early '50s, Rudolf Uhlenhaut had the idea of building a Mercedes-Benz racing sports car with the Type 300 engine. The W 194 went on to win various sports car races and was developed into the famous "Gullwing" for road use in 1954. And of course it is correct that there are only two "Uhlenhaut coupés" based on the eight-cylinder 300 SLR. One of the two sensational cars recently changed hands for the no less sensational sum of 135 million euros.
However, this red roadster on display at the Kilomètre Lancé on the Samedan airfield was also driven by Rudolf Uhlenhaut: in a record attempt on the highway from Ingolstadt to Munich in November 1958, where it reached an average speed of exactly 242.5 km/h. The red SL is still equipped with the longest rear axle ratio of 3.25:1 available at the time. Compared to the road-going version, it also had a small racing windshield and a covered passenger seat.
It is well known that Rudolf Uhlenhaut was not only an outstanding engineer, but also a gifted driver. In fact, he was as fast as most of the professional drivers employed by Daimler-Benz. Rumor has it that he was even a match for Juan Manuel Fangio. Thanks to his driving skills, Uhlenhaut recognized the weaknesses of the Silver Arrow W 25, for example, which subsequently became the superior Grand Prix car as the W 125.
Even though the red roadster with the car number S-EE 660 came to fame in the hands of Eberhard Mahle, it owes its first motorsport success to Rudolf Uhlenhaut.
