Rudolf Uhlenhaut

Uhlenhaut's 300SLR coupé, in the Mercedes-Benz museum in Sindelfingen

Rudolf Uhlenhaut (born 15 July 1906 in London to a German father and English mother, † 8 May 1989 in Stuttgart), was an Anglo-German engineer and executive for Mercedes-Benz.[1] He had a long association with the Mercedes-Benz racing programme of the '30s and '50s, and is best known for his road legal version of the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR race car.

Uhlenhaut was born in London, during his father's term as head of the London branch of the Deutsche Bank, and attended Tollington School.[2] Later the family moved to Brüssels and Bremen. As an avid skier, he pursued his studies in Munich.

In 1931 he joined Mercedes-Benz, working under Fritz Nallinger on the development of the Mercedes 170V. In 1936 Uhlenhaut assumed leadership of the race car department. Auto Union dominated the 1936 Grand Prix season over the aging Mercedes-Benz W25. As a talented driver in his own right, he was able to spot the deficiencies of the chassis and suspension, however he never raced competitively as he was needed for his engineering skills. The replacement for the W25, the Mercedes-Benz W125, remedied the chassis and suspension shortcomings and was much more powerful. The W125 dominated the 1937 Grand Prix season, and was considered the most powerful Grand Prix car until the turbocharged cars of the early 1980s. In 1938 rule changes necessitated a new car for 1938 Grand Prix season, the Mercedes-Benz W154.

Period image of the Uhlenhaut Coupé

In 1952, Uhlenhaut designed the Mercedes-Benz W194 "300SL" race car based on the engine and chassis of the Mercedes-Benz W186 limousine. The underpowered car achieved surprising success, winning important sports car races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and inspired the road-going Mercedes-Benz W198 "300SL Gullwing" of 1954.

The Mercedes-Benz W196 won the F1 Championship in 1954 and 1955. Uhlenhaut surpassed even Juan Manuel Fangio's times in test sessions.

Based on the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR sport racer of 1955, Uhlenhaut created a road legal SLR/SL hybrid. Capable of approaching 290 km/h (180 mph),[3] the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé easily earned the reputation of being the era's fastest road car. A story circulates that running late for a meeting Uhlenhaut roared up the autobahn from Munich to Stuttgart in just over an hour, a 137 mile/220 km journey that today takes two-and-a-half.[4]

Rudolf Uhlenhaut, who never owned a car of his own, retired in 1972. He needed hearing aids, possibly due to damage caused by his loud cars.

References

  1. ↑ http://media.daimler.com/dcmedia/0-921-614822-1-874810-1-0-0-0-0-0-11702-614318-0-1-0-0-0-0-0.html
  2. ↑ http://www.tollington.com/docs/tolly_mag_boys-1916_extract+.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.supercars.net/cars/1201.html
  4. ↑ "www.motortrend.com". www.motortrend.com. 2007-02-26. Retrieved 2010-10-11.

External links