Engineer and editor of Motor Kritik magazine, Josef Ganz, drafted a stinging critique of Mercedes-Benz' new rear-engine 130 model shortly after its exhibition at the Berlin Motor Show in 1934. Daimler-Benz were probably unprepared for his criticisms as Ganz had been engaged as a consulting engineer to improve the new car's tail-heavy handling. His critique was technically correct - the car suffered from over-steer due the weight and rear placement of its engine - but his acerbic commentary won him no favors. Daimler-Benz became another of the growing list of companies Ganz considered personal enemies. This would, of course, come back to bite him.
Daimler-Benz fully understood that the 130 had a handling problem and strenuous efforts were underway to address this. Lead engineer, Hans Nibel, engaged ex Daimler-Benz engineer Ferdinand Porsche, to assist. Porsche made some suggestions but despite three generations of improvements, the car was never able to fully resolve its tail-heaviness.
In Ganz' critique, he had expressed the opinion that any vehicle with an 'outboard' engine placement (i.e., behind the rear axle), would be inherently unstable. Ganz instead expressed the view that the best placement of the engine was ahead of the axle, i.e., mid-engine. This suited Ganz' particular view of the ideal 'kleinstwagen' (small car), which was limited to only two seats. All other companies exploring the rear-engine, small car concept, rejected this idea as impractical. Ganz would press on with this view regardless right through into the 1950s, resulting in inevitable failure.
Josef Ganz' last throw of the two-seater volkswagen, the Swiss-built Rapid volkswagen of the late 1940s. In their 1933 review of the Standard Superior, the editors of Das Motorrad identified the two-seater small car as an automotive dead-end - in the first paragraph! https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2022/08/1933-standard-superior-road-test-das.html.
The two-seater small car may have been a dead-end, but Daimler-Benz believed a mid-engine two-seater sportscar could find a market. The 1.3 litre engine was bored out to 1.5 litres, fitted with overhead valves and twin carburetors, delivering 55 hp. The engine and transmission was turned 180 degrees and mounted on the tube chassis ahead of the rear axles, which improved the weight distribution.
Highly streamlined coupe bodies were modeled for the project. Several experimental bodies were ordered for trials.
This sleek streamlined body was trialed but would not go into production.
After finalizing the body styling, four bodies were ordered. The Mercedes works team successfully tested the new sports coupes in the 2000 Kilometer endurance race in July 1934, where they won four gold medals. One of the driving team would go on to great things on the race circuit - Hermann Lang - behind the wheel of the Auto Union Type C and D.
Despite competition success in the 2000 Kilometer Race, Mercedes-Benz opted not proceed with the Sports Coupe after only six cars were ever built. All would eventually end up being scrapped. Instead, the 150 H chassis was fitted with a streamlined roadster body and unveiled at the 1935 Berlin Motor Show.
The 150 H roadster never went into mass production and only four examples were ever built. One survives and is in the Mercedes Benz museum.
While the 150 Sports Coupe and Roadster proved to be dead-ends themselves, they did have one very important long-lasting impact. When Ferdinand Porsche was granted the contract to build three volkswagen (V3) prototypes for testing in 1935, Daimler-Benz was instructed to build the two sedans (Porsche would build the cabriolet). The 150 H Sports Coupes and the various test bodies were still in the Daimler-Benz yard and would be used as a template for the body that would eventually become the world beating Volkswagen.
The Origin of the Volkswagen: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2012/03/volkswagen-world-beating-peoples-car.html
Mercedes-Benz 130: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2025/02/1934-mercedes-benz-130.html
Mercedes-Benz 170H: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2025/02/1936-mercedes-benz-170-h.html
Mercedes Classics History: http://mercedesclasicos.com/19_mercedes_benz_130h-170h.html
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