Mercedes-Benz W194

The Mercedes-Benz W194, also called the 300 SL, was an endurance racing car that Mercedes-Benz built for the 1952 sports car season, its first after the Second World War. Rudolf Uhlenhaut designed it around a light welded steel-tube spaceframe that enveloped the cabin so closely that conventional doors were impossible, which gave rise to the gull-wing doors. It used a 3.0 litre straight-six derived from the M186 engine of the 300 saloon, fitted with a triple two-barrel Solex carburettor setup to give 175 horsepower in racing trim. Only ten were made, and they won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Carrera Panamericana in 1952. The W194 led to the 300 SL W198 Gullwing road car of 1954 and was succeeded as a racer by the W196.