A section from my latest article in the MBCV ATB Magazine:
Research can often snowball into something far beyond the initial intent, so it’s always wise to retain a focal point to which you can return. And so it is with the history of motor racing, Mercedes and AMG.
My research for the last article uncovered some interesting information about the very beginnings of AMG. After I sent it off for printing I discovered even more 6.8 racecars which seem to have been forgotten for many years; indeed hiding in the shadow of the ‘Red Pig’ (number 35). In addition to the 11 cars I listed last time (numbers 1, 4, 5, 7, 13, 31, 35, 38, 51, 150 and 151), I found evidence of 5 more including numbers 2, 11, 12, 48 and 58. A friend recently emailed me and suggested there could’ve been 4 more including numbers 14, 19, 25 and 73! Counting them all as individual vehicles there could’ve been up to 20 x 6.8s circulating on race tracks around the globe! However this is likely wishful thinking, since I’d almost guarantee many were repainted and re-numbered to complete again under a different livery, since they would’ve been very expensive to build and race. More on this later.
Erich Waxenberger (known as ‘Waxl’ to his friends), is well known for being the genius responsible for shoehorning the 6.3 from the 600 Grosser into the W109. However a friend informed me the W109 chassis wasn’t the original recipient of the M100 engine, as was apparently mentioned in a previous ATB AMG article. The story goes that in the summer of 1966 Waxenburger was mildly offended and thereby challenged, by motoring journalist Hans Ulrich Wieselmann, who said he was getting too old and that Mercedes were only producing cars for executives, farmers and retirees. I mentioned in my last article that Mercedes had experimented with the M100 in a W113 Pagoda, a project which was abandoned not long after completion. But secretly ‘ol Waxl was turning his attention to a damaged W111 250SE. Apparently Mercedes had surplus 6.3 engines, since sales of the 600s were slow. It seems an obvious choice since the W111 had an engine bay of similar dimensions to the W109. After 12 months of working under the radar and unable to contain excitement at his creation, he took it for a short run around the block (under the cover of darkness), unknowing his boss Rudolf Uhlenhaut was still in the office. The next day Waxenberger was called to explain why there seemed to be a V8 race car rumbling around the factory in the darkness! Despite various hurdles, including improvements to comfort, body roll, air conditioning and brakes, plus overheating of rear axles and power steering, the development of the W109 6.3 was extremely rapid. Apparently it took only six weeks from the test drive of the 250SE mule to the first public reveal of the car at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 1968. In fact it was such a rushed project that the engine is actually canted slightly to clear various components!
Waxl was an engineer that wanted to race. But it was frowned upon by management due to the high risks and insurance implications. His race in Macau was completely unsanctioned and unsupported. Despite his win, the prize money and a handy bonus from MB, the board apparently ruled he was not to race again. Undeterred Waxl prepared 3 cars for Spa in 1969, but when MB heard about his motor racing campaign, the cars were withdrawn just before the race, for fear their appetite for tires would render them uncompetitive and embarrass the company. Contrary to the popular belief that AMG used a damaged W109 as the basis for a single race car (number 35), it seems Waxl generously donated his 3 race cars to AMG, so they could go racing.
Comparing the early and later race cars, it is very obvious that the only way to make them competitive was to fit enormous tires to cope with all the power and torque these monsters produced. With the huge tires came wide flares which probably would’ve been the birth of the ‘wide body’ concept for Mercedes. Another issue with the cars was body control, as can be seen in some of the racing photographs, where excessive roll would’ve made it very difficult for the drivers to maintain control. The other drawback facing the 6.8 race cars was their high thirst for fuel, compared to all the other (much smaller) cars competing. One web page states that consumption was 37L/100km, which equates to only 6.4mpg. To be fair, those figures a positively economical compared to a current V8 Supercar which uses 76.6L/100km and a Bugatti Veyron (at its top speed of 431kmh), which uses a ridiculous 116L/100km!!!
These issues combined would’ve made racing the 6.8s a monumental effort, with more pit stops than other cars for tires, fuel and frequent driver swaps to combat fatigue. The second place was more than impressive considering all those factors. If not for these challenges, the cars would’ve been unstoppable and I have no doubt that Spa in 1971 would’ve been the beginning of many 1st place wins for AMG. However it was not to be; in 1972 European Touring Car regulators capped engine capacity at 5.0L, so with the stroke of pen the 6.8 race cars were unable to compete again. Or so you thought….
Research can often snowball into something far beyond the initial intent, so it’s always wise to retain a focal point to which you can return. And so it is with the history of motor racing, Mercedes and AMG.
My research for the last article uncovered some interesting information about the very beginnings of AMG. After I sent it off for printing I discovered even more 6.8 racecars which seem to have been forgotten for many years; indeed hiding in the shadow of the ‘Red Pig’ (number 35). In addition to the 11 cars I listed last time (numbers 1, 4, 5, 7, 13, 31, 35, 38, 51, 150 and 151), I found evidence of 5 more including numbers 2, 11, 12, 48 and 58. A friend recently emailed me and suggested there could’ve been 4 more including numbers 14, 19, 25 and 73! Counting them all as individual vehicles there could’ve been up to 20 x 6.8s circulating on race tracks around the globe! However this is likely wishful thinking, since I’d almost guarantee many were repainted and re-numbered to complete again under a different livery, since they would’ve been very expensive to build and race. More on this later.
Erich Waxenberger (known as ‘Waxl’ to his friends), is well known for being the genius responsible for shoehorning the 6.3 from the 600 Grosser into the W109. However a friend informed me the W109 chassis wasn’t the original recipient of the M100 engine, as was apparently mentioned in a previous ATB AMG article. The story goes that in the summer of 1966 Waxenburger was mildly offended and thereby challenged, by motoring journalist Hans Ulrich Wieselmann, who said he was getting too old and that Mercedes were only producing cars for executives, farmers and retirees. I mentioned in my last article that Mercedes had experimented with the M100 in a W113 Pagoda, a project which was abandoned not long after completion. But secretly ‘ol Waxl was turning his attention to a damaged W111 250SE. Apparently Mercedes had surplus 6.3 engines, since sales of the 600s were slow. It seems an obvious choice since the W111 had an engine bay of similar dimensions to the W109. After 12 months of working under the radar and unable to contain excitement at his creation, he took it for a short run around the block (under the cover of darkness), unknowing his boss Rudolf Uhlenhaut was still in the office. The next day Waxenberger was called to explain why there seemed to be a V8 race car rumbling around the factory in the darkness! Despite various hurdles, including improvements to comfort, body roll, air conditioning and brakes, plus overheating of rear axles and power steering, the development of the W109 6.3 was extremely rapid. Apparently it took only six weeks from the test drive of the 250SE mule to the first public reveal of the car at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 1968. In fact it was such a rushed project that the engine is actually canted slightly to clear various components!
Waxl was an engineer that wanted to race. But it was frowned upon by management due to the high risks and insurance implications. His race in Macau was completely unsanctioned and unsupported. Despite his win, the prize money and a handy bonus from MB, the board apparently ruled he was not to race again. Undeterred Waxl prepared 3 cars for Spa in 1969, but when MB heard about his motor racing campaign, the cars were withdrawn just before the race, for fear their appetite for tires would render them uncompetitive and embarrass the company. Contrary to the popular belief that AMG used a damaged W109 as the basis for a single race car (number 35), it seems Waxl generously donated his 3 race cars to AMG, so they could go racing.
Comparing the early and later race cars, it is very obvious that the only way to make them competitive was to fit enormous tires to cope with all the power and torque these monsters produced. With the huge tires came wide flares which probably would’ve been the birth of the ‘wide body’ concept for Mercedes. Another issue with the cars was body control, as can be seen in some of the racing photographs, where excessive roll would’ve made it very difficult for the drivers to maintain control. The other drawback facing the 6.8 race cars was their high thirst for fuel, compared to all the other (much smaller) cars competing. One web page states that consumption was 37L/100km, which equates to only 6.4mpg. To be fair, those figures a positively economical compared to a current V8 Supercar which uses 76.6L/100km and a Bugatti Veyron (at its top speed of 431kmh), which uses a ridiculous 116L/100km!!!
These issues combined would’ve made racing the 6.8s a monumental effort, with more pit stops than other cars for tires, fuel and frequent driver swaps to combat fatigue. The second place was more than impressive considering all those factors. If not for these challenges, the cars would’ve been unstoppable and I have no doubt that Spa in 1971 would’ve been the beginning of many 1st place wins for AMG. However it was not to be; in 1972 European Touring Car regulators capped engine capacity at 5.0L, so with the stroke of pen the 6.8 race cars were unable to compete again. Or so you thought….
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