60 years of the Mercedes-Benz SL

1935 Mercedes-Benz 150 H

Engineer and editor of Motor Kritik magazine, Josef Ganz, drafted a stinging critique of Mercedes-Benz' new rear-engine 130 model shortly after it was revealed at the Berlin Motor Show in 1934. Ganz' criticisms came as something of a surprise to Daimler-Benz as he had been engaged as a consulting engineer to improve the new car's tail-heavy handling. While his observations were technically correct - the car suffered from over-steer due the 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. In Ganz' opinion, the best place for the engine was ahead of the axle, i.e., mid-engine placement. This suited Ganz' particular view of the ideal 'kleinstwagen' (small car), which was limited to only two seats. Many other companies exploring the rear-engine, small car concept, rejected this idea as inherently impractical as mid-engine placement reduced the amount of usable space in the car. Even as early as 1933, the editors of Das Motorrad in their review of the Standard Superior, identified the two-seater-only small car as an automotive dead-end - in the first paragraph! https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2022/08/1933-standard-superior-road-test-das.html.
. Ganz however, would press on with this view regardless right through into the 1950s, resulting in the inevitable failure of all his designs.

Josef Ganz' last throw of the two-seater volkswagen concept was the Swiss-built Rapid volkswagen of the late 1940s. Although 100 or so were built, they proved to be entirely unsuccessful and most were scrapped.

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. Their 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. All the trials cars would eventually end up being scrapped. Instead, the 150 H chassis was fitted with a streamlined roadster body for 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

1936 Mercedes-Benz 170 H

After the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz 130 model in 1934, Daimler-Benz engineers had been scrambling to improve its handling and reduce its tendency to over-steer in corners. The car's instability was the direct result of the choice of an upright water-cooled four-cylinder engine mounted behind the axles, when the car had originally been designed for a flat-four air-cooled motor. The 130 model went through three generations of suspension improvements before the model was retired in April 1936, after 4,298 cars had left the factory.

In February 1936, the completely redesigned Mercedes-Benz 170H was unveiled at the Berlin Motor Show. The new car benefited from the lessons learned from the 130, with redesigned suspension, double acting shock absorbers on the rear, a larger, better engine and overall better fittings. Streamlining was much improved over the somewhat angular 130. Motoring journalists praised the new car for its innovation and improved handling, but over-steer remained a problem for the unwary driver. Despite all the improvements, the 170H was never able to secure its market and only 1,507 cars were built before the model was withdrawn in October 1939.








1934 Mercedes-Benz 130 Brochure: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2025/02/1934-mercedes-benz-130.html
1935 Mercedes-Benz 150 H: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2025/02/1935-mercedes-benz-150-h.html
Mercedes Classics History: http://mercedesclasicos.com/19_mercedes_benz_130h-170h.html