Mercedes-Benz W125 Rekordwagen

The Mercedes-Benz W125 Rekordwagen was an experimental high-speed car built in the late 1930s and derived from the 1937 W125 Grand Prix car, with a streamlined body. Where the Grand Prix car used a tall eight-cylinder inline engine, the record car was fitted with a lower V12 of nearly 5.6 litres, designed by Albert Heess and producing about 765 PS, which reduced drag. Driven by Rudolf Caracciola, it set a record of 432.7 km/h over the flying kilometre on 28 January 1938, the highest speed officially timed on a public road for almost 80 years. A first version had failed to meet its targets at the Record Week of October 1937, and Daimler-Benz revised it for the new attempt.