Item detail
1:32
Scalextric
Mercedes-Benz
300 SLR Coupé
Silver
Mabuchi SP. 18000 rpm. Gear ratio 9:27
Front Mounted In-line Motor. Rear 2 wheel drive
Rectangular 2.5 mm
C2914
Street
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupé was not based on the iconic Mercedes-Benz 300SL although both cars featured "gull wing" top-hinged doors. The 300 SLR, most famous for Stirling Moss's 1955 Mille Miglia win, was based on the 1954 and 1955 Mercedes-Benz W196 Formula One car.
Legendary Mercedes motorsport chief, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, ordered two W196 chassis to be modified into a hybrid between the SLR and SL - this became the 300 SLR Coupé which featured a slightly widened version of the SLR's chassis with enclosed bodywork for aerodynamic purposes.
Two road-legal SLR Coupés were built, but after the 1955 Le Mans disaster and Mercedes' withdrawal from competitive motorsport, the programme was abandoned.
Uhlenhaut continued to use one of the 300 SLR Coupés as his company car. The 300 SLR Coupé was regarded as the world's fastest road car in the 1950s, and it is rumoured that, running late for a meeting, Uhlenhaut exploited the unlimited autobahns to make today’s' two-and-a-half-hour journey from Munich to Stuttgart in just over an hour.
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