Mercedes-Benz T80

The Mercedes-Benz T80 was a six-wheeled record car built by Mercedes-Benz and designed by Ferdinand Porsche in the late 1930s to break the world land speed record, a goal that never reached an attempt because the Second World War overtook the project. German racer Hans Stuck pushed for it and persuaded Mercedes-Benz to build it, with the official support of Adolf Hitler, and work began in 1937. The target speed rose from 550 km/h to 600 km/h after the runs of George Eyston and John Cobb, and by late 1939, when the project was finished, it stood at 750 km/h. A 44.5 litre Daimler-Benz DB 603 inverted V12 aero engine, tuned to about 2,574 kW and run on a special alcohol-based fuel mixture, was chosen to power it.