Mercedes-Benz W154: how one of the symbols of the Third Reich conquered Indianapolis

The Mercedes-Benz W154 is one of the track legends of pre-war Europe. The car, designed by Rudolf Uhlenhout, started in two of the Grand Prix seasons in 1938 and 1939, winning the European Championship in 1938, driven by Rudolf Caracciola. The appearance of the W154 was dictated by a rule change by the sports governing body AIACR, which limited the working volume of supercharged engines to 3000 cc. cm. Thus, all planned entries of the Mercedes W125, equipped with a 5700 cc supercharged engine, were cancelled, but instead, the company decided that it was better to make an entirely new racing car based on the W125 that would meet the new regulations, rather than modify the existing one. Thus appeared the W154, which in the 1939 season was equipped with a different body, and the old M154 engine was replaced by the M163 bobina aprindere delphi pret.

Mercedes-Benz W154: how one of the symbols of the Third Reich conquered Indianapolis

After the war, a Mercedes W154, with serial number 9, was found in Czechoslovakia. It was sold to the American entrepreneur Don Lee, who at the same time had his own racing team. In this regard, it is interesting to note that as early as 1938, the Indianapolis 500 had already allowed the participation of cars from the European Grand Prix. This rule remained in force in the post-war years, and in 1947, Don Lee hired the driver Duke Nalon to compete on behalf of his team with the W154. In the meantime, Nalon contacted Riley Brett, one of Offenhauser's mechanics, who had somehow obtained drawings of the Mercedes racing engine. Nalon managed to make copies and with their help, Lee's team prepared the engine.

Some time before the start of the race, the mechanics started it, but left it idling for too long, causing fuel to condense in the manifold. Due to the angled mounting of the engine, the rear cylinders filled with fuel, resulting in the connecting rods and one of the pistons breaking. Despite the serious damage, a decision was made to have a new piston made, which was hastily cast in sand just in time for the race. Although Nalon achieved the second highest speed in qualifying, the scoring system placed him in 18th starting position.

After 119 laps the spare piston failed and the car retired. Nalon was not re-engaged and in 1948 his place was taken by Ralph Hepburn. He later moved to Lew Welch's team, but in the meantime one of his drivers, Chet Miller, agreed to drive Don Lee's ill-fated W154. He qualified 19th, but early in the race he had to rely on co-driver Ken Fowler, who took over after lap 30 and handed it over to Louis Tomei on lap 50. Tomei continued until lap 108 when the car retired due to oil problems.

In 1949, Don Lee sold his W154 to Joel Thorne, another team owner, who replaced the original engine with a six-cylinder Sparks. Thorne drove the car himself, but failed to qualify. The legendary Mercedes-Benz sports manager Alfred Neubauer was also present at the 1949 race to investigate the feasibility of running a new factory-built Mercedes racing car at Indianapolis. Based on his input, engineers in Stuttgart attempted to adapt the W154 for track racing in the 1951 Indianapolis 500. The new Mercedes cars also entered two races in Argentina that year, where they achieved two second places, driven by Hermann Lang, Karl Kling and home favourite Juan Manuel Fangio. However, Mercedes ended the program, and Don Lee's car made its final appearance at Indianapolis in 1957.

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After the war, a Mercedes W154, with serial number 9, was found in Czechoslovakia

Some time before the start of the race, the mechanics started it, but left it idling for too long, causing fuel to condense in the manifold