 |
A TRIBUTE TO CREATIVITY & IMAGINATION |
|
|
Mercedes 170 H (1936/38) - Germany
This tribute is dedicated to engineers, not just to cars alone. Our Mercedes has a special niche: it is a car without clear paternity. Mercedes - Daimler Benz - was haunted, as were many other manufacturers of the time, by the concept of the "people's car." In the 1920s, Rumpler worked closely with Daimler Benz and in 1929 a race car with a rear engine (and of course the swing rear axles) could be seen on some race tracks. In 1933, the 130 H rear engine was a first approach to the people car. The automobile was small, lacked power and, according to witnesses, handled badly, it also was no beauty queen. In 1935, Daimler Benz forgot the 130 H and created a nice central engine roadster. For reasons unknown, production was limited to five cars. The only surviving car stands proudly in the Mercedes Museum in Germany. Obviously, the 170 H resembles a Volkswagen de luxe with the good engine type 170, which was still alive after the war in conventional Mercedes cars: the 170 V In 1937, Hitler lost his patience with Doctor Porsche's prototypes and commanded DB to realize 30 KDF cars. This could be a good explanation for the look-alike 170 H. In 1937, our 170 H was imported to the United States with instruments in English measures. The leather seats, overdrive, and radio were definitely not the staples of the Volkswagen Class. On the other hand, coil springs replaced the torque-bar suspension and the engine was water cooled. The cabriolet limousine body, with its open top, was trendy in pre-war Germany
|
Email Webmaster |
