The Mercedes-Benz C111-IV record car stands as an "eye catcher" in the front showroom of the Mercedes House Brussels to announce the special exhibition on the Motorsport History of the Marque, "Passion for Racing"...  

In a very stylish two-floor setting in the shadow of the Sablon church, Mercedes Benz Belgium Luxembourg opened in 2003 het "Studio Mercedes-Benz Maybach."

It was essentially an exhibition and meeting place, where the larger public had the occasion to get a taste of the (Maybach) top models, the innovative power and the philosophy of Mercedes Benz as a car builder.

The "Passion for Racing" exhibition shows unique films of the Motorsport activity of the Marque in a very captivating setting with a large picture of the "Silberpfeilen" starting grid at the Nürburgring...

Numerous exhibitions were also held, one of which was the exhibition on Mercedes Car Styling, celebrating of course the legendary SL "Flügelturen" models. You can read my report and photographs of this exhibition in the latest issue of Oldtimer Dreamcar Magazine, and read also the story on Rudolf Uhlenhaut further on this site.

A revamp in 2007…

In april 2007 the "Studio Mercedes-Benz Maybach" was redesigned completely and renamed "The Mercedes House Brussels". It mission is now even broader, and it is now a place where the public can get acquainted in an informative, interactive and educational way with automotive themes and of course particularly Mercedes-Benz.

The two-floor elegant building always has an "eye catcher" in its show room, setting the theme for the occasional exhibition held. The public can also choose those special items in a proper boutique, and my eyes fell on a very interesting whine bottle stopper set, where 300 SL type gearlevers indicate the colour of the wine… a very interesting gift for the car and wine enthusiast who has already everything…the photo shows the set, and of course we could not resist buying it!

The Maybach Lounge and Brasserie

The Lounge houses a Maybach 62, but can be hired for business meetings, offering accomodation for up to 16 particpants in a quite original setting, to say the least.

In the brasserie, chef Grégory Lauwaert serves every day – except on Sundays – from 11.30 until 15.00 h a French inspired cuisine with subtle exotic touches. Noblesse Oblige – Mercedes-Benz standards of excellence are of course to be found back in the cuisine.

"Passion for Racing"

The exhibition room on the downstairs floor houses presently an emotional evocation of the legendary motor sport history of the marque, and is indeed worth a visit. This year Mercedes celebrates the 100 th anniversary of its engagement in the sport, as it was on the 7^th of july 1908 that the Mercedes team raced to a 1-2-3 victory in the Grand Prix of Dieppe in France. The marque with the star had entered only these 3 cars!

Set against a background of large period photographs, the SSK is impressive indeed... This example stems from the Schlumpf Collection in Mulhouse.   

In the exhibition, which is open until the end of this year, one can admire the honest and pure shapes of another very famous early racing car, the 27/180/250 PS Typ SSK. The car looks very purposeful, and not as massive as the British Bentleys. Indeed, it ws a further development from the 1928 SS ("Super Sport") as the chassis was shortened by some 34 centimeters, hence its name SSK, which stands for "Super Sport Kurz", Kurz meaning short…

Above the immense radiator of the SSK towers the legendary star... especially racing cars showed off the emblems of the Marque!

The SSK was very powerful with an immense 250 horsepower from its 7100 cc straight six in racing form. With a kerb weight of a mere 1.5 tonnes, the car was then one of the fastest racing cars of its time, and sped to many victories. Amongst others, the 500 Miles of Argentina in 1929 and 1930. It won in 1929 the legendary British Tourist Trophy with Rudolf Caracciola at the wheel. "Caratsch" also won in 1930 the Irish Grand Prix, the 1931 German Grand Prix and in that same year the Mille Miglia with the SSK.

The car is seen every year at the classical re-edition of this event, and in numerous other sporting classic events, inspiring many enthusiasts until this very day…

Looking at the large, luxurious wooden steering wheel and the opulently upholstered front bench one hardly can imagine that this SSK was actually one of the fastest racing cars of its day...

I was impressed by the large wooden steering wheel, and the aura of solid purposefulness which pervades this car. I also like its impressive radiator, standing proudly with not the slightest hint of aerodynamics, with the big star emblem towering on top of it. Inclining the emblem of a marque and the radiator to the forces of the wind was then still seen as a disgrace, which neither Bentley, nor Bugatti considered doing. But only a few years later, times were to change…

The W154

It is indeed hard to believe that the Grand Prix Car which stands just behind this SSK on the show was designed, built and raced only 9 years later. These cars have litterally nothing in common any more, except that they were the fastest of their time. What they also still share is this solidity and engineering perfection until the last detail. Looking at the massive halfshafts of the rear axle and the suspension arms, one sees that also the W154 was decidedly built to withstand the heaviest of loads and bounces on European street circuits of these days, as was its SSK predecessor.

Experience in aircraft engine engineering als helped in designing the fantastic 3 litre V12 engine with one compressor per cylinder bank, needed for the 1938 season, as the Grand Prix racing's governing body AIACR moved from a formula limited by weight to one limited by engine capacity.

Mercedes based the chassis of the new car on the one used in the W125. To improve its stiffness even further, the frame was constructed using oval tubes made of nickel-chrome molybdenum!

The new engine regulations allowed a maximum capacity of 3000cc with a supercharger or 4500cc without. After testing both types, Mercedes preferred the supercharged 3 litre unit. And what an engine it is… delivering 480 HP at 7800 rpm, catapulting the car to a top speed of some 330 km.

The V12 with two six cilinder banks at 60 degrees sits beautifully in the chassis.

To compensate for the smaller engine compared to the W125, the W154 had an extra gear with a 5-speed manual transmission. The first gear was protected by a latch to avoid being engaged in frantic racing. The car was quite light for the standards of the time, putting some 981 kg on the scales.

The purposeful gearlever of the 5-speed box and its ultra light changing grid: no luxurious opulence any more, as seen in the SSK...

The car on the exhibition comes from the Mulhouse Museum and is reportedly a 1939 example, where the car sported an all new bodywork.

But no weight was spared in designing the rear suspension: look at the size of the axle, the halfshaft and the massive trailing suspension arm...  

We picked first these two formidable cars and show you also the photographs… but more on the exhibition and further detailed car descriptions are to follow soon on these pages…

Hans Knol ten Bensel

The Mercedes House Brussels is located at the Grand Sablon in Brussels, Bodenbroekstraat 22-24, 1000 Brussels