Equipped with a sophisticated four-valve head and boasting a relatively small displacement, the Mercedes' four-cylinder engine was the first that could rev over 3,000 rpm. No fewer than five were entered in the prestigious race where it faced rivals from Italy, France and Great Britain in a rather more peaceful encounter than the looming war.
This race car headed the 1-2-3 victory for Mercedes at the grand prix that was run just before the First World War. (Photo: Wouter Melissen) Christian Lautenschlager headed a 1-2-3 Mercedes victory in this very example. One of the sister cars was later sold to the United States and driven to Mercedes' only Indy 500 win by Ralph DePalma. The design was so sophisticated that in modified form, the surviving cars were raced well into the 1920s. Our feature car is one of three survivors and has been meticulously restored to its French Grand Prix winning configuration.
Mercedes had suspended the company's competition program following the victory in the 1908 French Grand Prix, with the Paul Daimler-led engineering team instead focused on the development of aero engines. During this period, valuable lessons were learned about lightweight materials and construction. These were applied when the German manufacturer decided to ready new cars for the 1914 French Grand Prix at Lyon.
Leaving little to chance, Mercedes built several experimental six-cylinder cars for the 1913 Grand Prix de la Sarthe. Considering the new-for-1914 displacement limit of 4.5 liters and maximum weight of 1,100 kg (2,420 pounds), Mercedes figured a four-cylinder engine would suffice.
During Mercedes' absence from racing, Peugeot had come to the fore with hugely sophisticated twin-cam, four-valve-per-cylinder engines. These cutting-edge machines had taken victories in the 1912 and 1913 French Grands Prix and were certainly the cars to beat in 1914.
The advanced four-cylinder designed by Mercedes engineers was able to rev over 3,000 rpm, the highest to date for the company's racing engines. (Photo: Wouter Melissen) Using aero-engine technology, a new straight four was developed built on an aluminum crankcase with separate steel cylinders. Welded on the cylinders, the individual heads sported four valves. Mercedes, keen to do things their own way, used just a single overhead camshaft to actuate the valves. The camshaft was driven from the crankshaft by a shaft that was fitted at the rear of the engine. The crankshaft itself was counterbalanced and forged in the highest-grade Austrian steel.
Designed to run at twice the speed of any Mercedes engine that had come before, lubrication of the new four was vital. An intricate system was fitted that combined a wet sump with a high-pressure pump. No piston rings were fitted, so by the design, the engine used oil. Additional oil could be fed into the system by a manual pump to be operated by the riding mechanic. To prevent the plugs from fouling, as many as four plugs could be fitted, although the cars raced with three. These were powered by two separate magnetos to ensure reliability.
The ?M 93654? engine was fed by a single Mercedes up-draft carburetor. The first competition engine to rev over 3,000 rpm, the four produced its peak power of 106 horsepower at 3,100 rpm. This was quite an achievement considering no other Mercedes/Daimler engine built up to that point could safely rev over 1,500 rpm. A separately mounted four-speed gearbox was used. This was connected to the rear wheels not through the chains previously used but by a drive shaft to save weight.
The chassis of the new Grand Prix racer followed convention with a cross-braced, pressed-steel frame suspended by semi-elliptic leaf springs and solid axles. One of the things carried over from the 1913 experimental cars was the V-shaped radiator and tightly wrapped aluminum body complete with belly pan. To reduce drag even further, even the front axles were streamlined. Unlike most of the rivals, the Mercedes 18/100 featured brakes only on the rear axle and an additional transmission brake.
Source: http://automotive.speedtv.com/article/vintage-mercedes-conquering-1914-racer/
the brothers grimm the brothers grimm penn state football weather boston grimm fairy tales grimm fairy tales gold rush
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.