Test drive felbach and the art of caring for Mercedes

Visiting restoration experts from Mercedes-Benz Classic Center

Nobility obliges. Aristocrats, descendants of ancient clans, are called upon to maintain a certain style and standards of behavior worthy of their glorious ancestors. Portraits of ancestors hang in the castles of their ancestors - not only as a source of family pride, but also as a reminder of the burden of noble origin. In the world of cars with such a load, there are old companies and especially the oldest manufacturer, whose founders are the inventors of a self-propelled car with an internal combustion engine.

It is undeniable that Daimler not only treats its heritage with due respect, but also shows incredible and extremely expensive care for its upkeep and preservation. An impressive museum that can truly be compared to a family castle and even a temple is only part of the group's efforts to maintain a living connection with the past. Indeed, no matter how rich it may seem, the museum's exposition includes "only" 160 cars, divided into "myths" and "galleries". However, the company's collection includes about 700 cars, of which 500 cars, 140 racing cars and 60 trucks and professional cars of the brand Mercedes-Benz or one of the previous brands - Benz, Daimler or Mercedes. More than 300 of them are on the move and take part in rallies for veterans such as the Silvreta Classic, etc., or in events such as the elegance contests at Pebble Beach or Villa D'Este.

Probably many kids visiting the Mercedes-Benz Museum imagine that somewhere deep below Unterturkheim there are secret caves where hardworking gnomes repair, clean and polish automobile treasures to keep them irresistibly attractive and seductive as well as seductive. left the plant for the first time. Alas, we long ago left the world of childhood and fairy tales, but we still retain something of the once genuine delight, that incomparable joyful surprise with which a boy looks at a huge car. This takes us to a place where veterans of the past and past centuries are reborn to a new life and where owners of classic Mercedes can turn to diagnostics and therapy for their pet.

The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center is located in Fellbach, a small town about eight kilometers from Stuttgart. The road there passes through Bad Cannstadt, one of the two birthplaces of the automobile. Today, the garden pavilion at Taubenstraße 13, where Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach created the first high-speed engine, the first motorcycle and the first four-wheeled car, has become a museum called the Gottlieb Daimler Memorial.

Home in the car

It is unlikely that the inventors of the automobile worked, albeit independently, at the same time in the same region of Germany (present-day Baden-Württemberg) and even on the banks of the same river - the Neckar. The economic boom after German reunification in 1871, combined with the relatively liberal creative atmosphere in Baden and Württemberg and the notorious tenacity of the inhabitants of these places, led to a success that proved decisive for the future. Today we cannot imagine the industrial profile of Germany and especially Stuttgart without the automotive industry.

At Daimler, work with historical heritage is carried out in three main areas. One of them is museums - in addition to the large one in Unterturkheim, this includes the house and factory museum of Karl Benz in Ladenburg (see the article on Bert Benz), the Gottlieb Daimler memorial in Bad Kanstad and his birthplace in Schorndorf, as well as the Unimog Museum in Haguenau.

The car collection and archives of the concern are the second important aspect of Daimler's historical activities. The archive was officially created in 1936, but documents have been collected and stored since the very beginning of car production. If all archival units were placed side by side, their length would be more than 15 kilometers. There are more than three million photographs in the photo archive, of which 300 XNUMX are large-format glass negatives. Along with drawings, test reports and other technical documentation, data is stored for almost all vehicles produced to date.

The third direction is maintenance and restoration, for which the center in Fellbach is responsible. Its spacious lobby is a small car museum. Dozens of classic models are presented here, some of which can be purchased if desired. However, we hurry to the workshop, where twenty craftsmen take care of the good health of priceless classic examples of automotive engineering and design art.

Myths and legends

From the door we are drawn to the car we just read about - the Benz 200 PS, which on April 13, 1911, Bob Berman set the world speed record on the sandy beach of Daytona Beach - 228,1 km / h for one kilometer with acceleration. Today, this achievement may seem unimpressive to some, but in those days it was a sensation. Before that, there were the fastest trains, but their record (210 km / h since 1903) was broken - another confirmation of the lifting of the cars. And the planes were then almost twice as slow. It would take them ten years and a world war to reach the speed of the Blitzen-Benz (the name, meaning "lightning" in German, was actually given to it by the Americans).

To achieve a huge power of 200 hp, the designers increased the working volume of the four-cylinder engine to 21,5 liters. This will impress everyone! The history of the concern does not remember another racing engine with the same volume - neither before nor after.

We slowly go around the vast workshop (the total area of ​​the center is about 5000 sq.m) and with a bare interior we look at the cars loaded on the lifts. Here is the “silver arrow” W 165 at number 16, which won the Tripoli Grand Prix in 1939 (first place for Herman Lang, second for Rudolf Karachola). The creation of this machine today can be considered a technical feat. After in September 1938, with a sudden change in regulations, the displacement of participating cars was limited to 1500 cubic cm, in just eight months Daimler-Benz specialists managed to design and manufacture a completely new eight-cylinder model (the previous three-liter cars were with 12 cylinders).

At the end of the room, on another elevator, there is a car that is not currently being repaired and is therefore covered with a tarp. Fenders, front and back cover are supported around. The chrome lettering means the model was removed for cleaning, but its traces on the back cover are eloquent: 300 SLR, and under it is a capital letter D. Is the famous "Uhlenhout coupe" really under the tarpaulin? In response to a persistent question, the owners removed the lid, which reveals the chassis of this unique supersport model based on the racing SLR and used by designer Rudolf Uhlenhout. For contemporaries, this is the embodiment of an automobile dream - not only because it is technically far ahead of its time, but also because it could not be bought for any money.

We pass an already serviced and shiny 300 S Coupe, which was once a "tortoise" more expensive than the much more famous 300 SL with opening doors. In an adjoining large room, two mechanics are working on a white SSK - although it was made in 1928, the machine appears to still be in motion, with no visible signs of wear. It's called white magic!

Magic to order

The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center was founded in 1993. It employs 55 people, and most of them are engaged not in repairs, but in the expertise and supply of spare parts for partners, enthusiasts, clubs and, of course, for the company's parallel center in Irvine, California. Approximately half of the workshops' capacity is occupied by servicing cars from the company's collection, and the other half takes orders from private customers. Condition - at least 20 years have passed since the model was discontinued. Sometimes the center buys and restores valuable items at its own expense, and then sells them - these are demanded goods, such as pre-war compressor models, 300 SL or 600.

The first service offered to customers is an examination, which should establish all the details about the history and condition of the car and suggest measures for its restoration and maintenance. It lasts several weeks and can cost 10 euros. Then, at the request of the customer, the actual work on the car begins.

Having received a profitable offer, the center buys the car and stores it in an unrestored state, offering buyers with a full restoration offer. The buyer can choose between all trim levels and color combinations that were available in the years the model was produced. Estimated duration of restoration (eg for 280 SE Cabriolet) is 18 months.

The income from such services may seem large, but it is nothing compared to the money that Daimler spends on the maintenance of museums, archives, collections and historical heritage in general. But what to do - it is obligatory to know.

Text: Vladimir Abazov

Photo: Vladimir Abazov, Daimler