3D model preview
1954
Interactive 3D model · Mercedes-Benz W 196 R
01/24
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01
Mercedes mounted the 2.5-litre straight-eight at an angle to lower the bonnet and fed it by direct fuel injection, a first for a Formula 1 engine. Desmodromic valve control avoided conventional valve springs at high engine speeds, while the gearbox sat behind the rear axle to improve weight distribution. The W 196 R appeared both with exposed wheels and with a streamlined body for the fastest circuits.
02
The streamlined version scored a one-two finish on its debut at Reims in 1954. Juan Manuel Fangio won the Drivers' Championship that year and repeated the achievement in 1955; Stirling Moss added victory at the British Grand Prix. Across its brief World Championship career, the W 196 R won nine of the twelve races it started.
Archive provenance
Mercedes-Benz W 196 R
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The source names the same car as this exhibit. The geometry is the creator's reconstruction, not an official scan.
This non-official historical visualization uses The_Nuke_Remolacha's model under CC BY 4.0. It is not an official Mercedes-Benz scan. The exhibit represents the open-wheel W 196 R configuration; Mercedes-Benz and the displayed marks belong to their respective owners.