Great posts, everyone! It makes me once more again marvel at what backyarders were able to do back in the 1950's, especially in regard to building beautiful, custom auto bodies. All the photos here are great reminders of how much ingenuity our hobby has exhibited over the years. The challenges, complications, ingenuity and achievements in hotrodding are certainly way beyond 99% of the other hobbies that people pursue. Some think of you with no more appreciation than just being a "car guy". But congrats to everyone who has built and engine, painted a car, built a whole car or accomplished many of the other difficult jobs that most people wouldn't even attempt. Even after 50 years of going to car shows and races, I look around and ask myself, "How was he or she able to conceive and then actually make that???". Yes, the ingenuity, hard work and accomplishments continues today. When I'm at a car event, I look around and know that I am walking among the best.
What´s incredible is that Auto Union even planned a road going version of their Type A GP car. I can only imagine what one of these would be worth nowadays if they´d built a few. Shame, and a tragic missed opportunity. http://jalopnik.com/5867617/the-forgotten-audi-supercar-that-was-never-built
Good write up. Nazis do suck. And, I don't think the post was political. Guys are just busting your chops, which is a car guys' love language.
Regarding the "6,000 lb. chassis and they drilled two dozen insignificant holes to lighten?" remark: Early on in the Gran Touring races, Enzo Ferrari with his red Ferraris, the Brits with their British Racing Green cars...Enter the Germans, silver painted contestants? NOT so, the Germans removed the white paint to a polished aluminum skin, to SAVE PAINT WEIGHT! (sorry, but my italics are inop) The German racecars are traditionally silver. My Grandfather was acquainted with Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, Grandpa lived in Alsace-Lorraine until the Nazis seized his vineyards...He said Dr. Porsche was 'coerced' to comply, even imprisoned for 'resisting' der Fuhrer. Hitler kept Dr. Porsche locked in 'rooms', forced him to design the 24 H.P. VW proto pushrod 4 cycle engine. (Dr. Porsche wanted an air cooled 2 cycle, but was months away from prototype) Grandpa quoted a loose translation of what Hitler probably told the good doctor: "You vill obey und you vill LIKE IT!" Grandpa fled to America, settling in Hammond, Indiana.
I agree with you completely! I was lucky enough to have seen the Kenz & Leslie 777 'liner run many times when I was 5 to 9 years old and I thought there could never be a greater vehicle. THEN, my father gave me his copy of "Grand Prix Race Car, 1906-1939" by Laurence Pomeroy and I never was the same! It did not have one photo in it, but the most exquisite pen and ink drawings of the cars with details of the engines and suspensions. It truly was a Golden Age.
Ryan , thank you for the write up! I was visiting the Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart a few weeks ago with my friend Damir ( Chevydeuce on here, he works for Mercedes).We were checking out the T80 and it was inbelievable how big that thing is when you are standing next to it. I also believe the body must have been made with pretty simple hand tools and you really can tell where all the different metal sheets were hammer-welded together. There was a lot of Hot Rod vibe going on in this museum, the Uhlenhaut SLR was outstanding aswell. And what really did it for me was the fact that most of the cars are no overrestored concours pieces, some are proudly showing their scars, faded paintjobs, single stage metallics,a little wear here, a little tear there and have a lot of character.
Ryan...You taunted these youngsters with visions of hot rods, just to lead their fickle minds to a higher level of...Culture! You should be...congratulated!
German's focus was to be a world beater in the 30's in every fashion and that's what they were building though out the country. What they built can be appreciated - by me - as I do. Back in the states of the US - we were pretty content with chasing girls and making everything go faster....including Mary Ann.........
Of course Tim, here we go. The white Roadster is a short wheelbase SSK I think, the red one has a very similar drivetrain but is a lot more elegant.... if you look closely you can see how worn the carpet is on the red one. They sure get driven, and that´s what I think is cool about these cars.The white one is the hot rod version, the red is the one to get the girls, hahahaha The Uhlenhaut coupe is my personal favorite in this museum... That car is so damn sexy. Dr. Uhlenhaut was the genius Mercedes race director / constructor in the 50s.I´never was abig fan of this make, but this guys must have been pretty nuts. If I remember correctly he first built the two Uhlenhaut Coupes for long distances races. They had the Formula 1 inline 8 engines with mechanical fuel injection, you can see where the air inlet is in the hood.This car has alot of character, it is not overrestored. I couldn´t tell if it´s been restored or still original and well maintained. When Mercedes quit racing long distances, Dr. Uhlenhaut used this SLR as his daily driver..... with straight pipes still protruding through the side of the cowl on the passenger side.No mufflers.He had his appartment in downtown Stuttgart , so everyone in town knew when Dr. Uhlenhaut went to the factory. Eventually there where enough complaints from his neighbors so he had a uglyass suitecase sized muffler put on the side of the cowl , but it was easily removed for his Autobahn journeys. If I remember correctly he was living in Munich and made the 227 km weekend trip home in under an hour...on public roads.There is an Autobahn between Stuttgart and Munich, so that helped , but be aware that in 1950s Germany a 24 hp Volkswagen was a middle class car most people couldn´t afford. 12 hp cars , like Lloyds and the like were the norm. Uhlenhaut must have scared a good amount of clueless VW drivers shitless blasting by at over 300kmh with open headers.... My friend Damir also told me this legendary story about Uhlenhaut... Back in the 50s(?)they were testing the F1 Silberpfeil on some racetrack, probably in Hockenheim or on the Nürburgring. Their driver,F1 world champion Juan Manuel Fangio, wasn´t exactly pleased with how the car handled and just couldn´t get good times. So Fangio complained with Uhlenhaut that there was something wrong with the car and he couldn´t go any faster. Dr. Uhlenhaut dropped his pen, got in the car and took off on the race track for a few test laps... When he came back he had beat Fangio´s time by far, getting faster with every round. When he got back , Fangio was in shame and Uhlenhaut´s comment was: " Nothing wrong with the car." Maybe some of the details are off, but you get the image... And maybe that´s one of the reasons why American cars and the US in general have been so highly appreciated here in the 50s, 60s and 70s although they were unobtainable to most. American cars were powerful, comfortable and most everyone ( in America) could afford one. At that time wealthy, upper class people drove a 100 hp Mercedes, real rich ones maybe a 55-59 Chevrolet V8 or an American Ford.Only a handfull of people, like Dr. Uhlenhaut, were in the postion to drive such a fast car.
Well, just because they had money and brute force doesn't mean they lacked innovation or creativity. ...and that engine didn't just come off a shelf; I'm sure there was a fair amount of innovation involved in the design of that motor as well. I recently read 'A Higher Call' (Adam Makos) and, some time before that, a collection of first person fighter pilot accounts (spanning WW I through Vietnam, all sides; I lost track of that book and can't find any references to author or publisher). What I found really fascinating was that in many ways it didn't matter what side someone was on. Most flew for the love of flying and, yes, out of devotion and love of country (which didn't necessarily translate to a sharing of political ideals). If you were a pilot you respected other pilots, regardless of their allegiance. My guess is this - Ferdi and his crew would have gotten along really well with Kenz and Leslie and vice-versa. They were each committed to doing the best with what they had. Their common passion would have brought them together. Hot Rods (by any core definition) are like that...
Ryan knows his history... 'Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich'. Norman Ohler. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 2017.
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