Number 617 lives on - Mercedes-Benz

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Number 617 lives on
Fifty years of the Fintail! Now that is an anniversary worth celebrating,
preferably in style. So let’s take a look back at some legendary racing
successes, such as the 300 SE bearing race number 617, which took the
two-man team of Eugen Böhringer and Klaus Kaiser to victory in the
1964 International Touring Grand Prix of Argentina.
This particular 300 SE is a reproduction
made by Mercedes-Benz. Traces of the
original company car are all but obscured
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Text Peter Michaely
Photos Markus Bolsinger
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The production of a 300 SE version with
manual transmission was resolved
by the Board of Management in 1962 to
enable rally approvals to be obtained.
The four-speed manual transmission was
available from March 1963
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Meticulous planning paved the way
for four consecutive victories in
Argentina: in 1961 and 1962 with the
220 SE; in 1963 and 1964 with the
300 SE. The logistics all came together
perfectly en route
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Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales: The abbreviation YPF stood for the state oil company of Argentina at that time
T
he technical documentation of a racing division can hold the
key to some fascinating stories. There are tales of endless finetuning until the individual pieces of the jigsaw puzzle all fit
together to form the perfect racing car. And also of the untiring commitment of the constructors which, when it comes to achieving victory
on the race and rally circuits, is just as important as having a gifted
driver behind the wheel. Viewed from this perspective, the documents
of the Motor Sport and R&D departments on the success of the type
220 SE and 300 SE Fintails in the first half of the 1960s, now stored in
Daimler’s corporate archives, read like a thriller – complete with false
trails, sudden twists and turns, and a magnificent finale.
Ultimately, however, there are some statistics on the successes at rallies as well as long-distance and circuit races which are so comprehensive that listing all of them would go way beyond the scope of this
article. They start with a triple victory at the Monte Carlo Rally in early
1960. Less than half a year after the launch of the new W 111 series
six-cylinder models, Walter Schock and his co-driver Rolf Moll roared
over the finish line to take first place in their 220 SE. With this victory
they became the first Germans to take a place on the list of winners of
the “Monte”. Second and third places were taken by Eugen Böhringer/
Hermann Socher, and Eberhard Mahle/Roland Ott driving 220 SEs. At
the end of the 1960 season, Schock was crowned European rally champion for the second time, having previously taken the title in 1956. In
1961, after driving more than 4,600 kilometers (2,900 miles) with
co-driver Manfred Schiek, he took the checkered flag and emerged
victorious at the International Touring Grand Prix of Argentina. The
220 SEs also demonstrated their indestructible qualities once again:
crossing the finishing line in second place was the team of Hans
Herrmann/Rainer Günzler in a 220 SE.
By the end of the 1961 season, the team headed by racing manager
Karl Kling, along with other private teams, had already given the advertising strategists enough material for their large-format ads and
also for forging tactical links with the production models: “Real performance speaks for itself” was the self-assured headline of one such
advert. And it didn’t stop there: “In 1961, production Mercedes-Benz
cars were first across the line in the Algerian – Central African Rally,
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The drivers had to be prepared for all eventualities
Group photo with contemporaries: Pagode, Fintail, L 319
the East African Rally and the International Touring Grand Prix of
Argentina, among others. In addition they achieved a further ninety
class victories in national and international competitions. Successfully
passing these immense real-life tests is considered among experts
as proof of exceptional performance. And this is the same technical
perfection, and the same quality and built-in reliability that you will
find in every Mercedes-Benz that
leaves our plant.”
Karl Kling – winner of the Carrera
Panamericana 1952 in Mexico together with his co-driver Hans
Klenk, and successor to Alfred Neubauer from 1956 as the manager of
the Motor Sport department – knew
very well that victories would only
result from meticulous preparation.
This was particularly true of the
punishing long-distance races, such
as the International Touring Grand Prix of Argentina. Thanks to a
team of around thirty staff, military-precision planning and polished
logistics – including the use of an airplane to provide air support –
the brand with the three-pointed star succeeded in securing four
successive places on the list of winners of this marathon South
American ordeal between 1961 and 1964.
After Walter Schock and Rolf Moll’s triumph in 1961, the following year
saw the women’s team of Ewy Baronin von Korff-Rosqvist and Ursula
Wirth complete all six stages of the more than 4,600-kilometer race
to take first place in the 220 SE. In 1963 and 1964, another legend
stormed to first place in the rankings with Klaus Kaiser as co-driver in
a 300 SE (W 112): Eugen Böhringer, a cook and hotelier from Stuttgart,
who was crowned 1962 European rally champion in his 220 SE. Having
already pushed the 300 SE – which was first called into service in
1963 – to victory in the Acropolis Rally and the German Rally in that
year, the now 87-year-old Böhringer drove on the Argentine tracks in
1963 and 1964 like a man possessed.
In 1964 he covered the first 400-kilometer (250-mile) stage in just
one hour and 54 minutes – corresponding to an average speed of over
200 km/h (125 mph). “After that it was into the mountains, where
we averaged 181 km/h [112 mph],”
recalled the old campaigner some
decades later.
With times of over 33 hours each,
three 300 SEs took first, second
and third places: Böhringer/Kaiser
came in ahead of Dieter Glemser/
Martin Braungart, followed by Ewy
Baronin von Korff-Rosqvist/EvaMaria Falk. The race report rejoiced
in the victory: “The 4,779.6-km
[2,969.9-mile] route encompassed
stretches of coarse gravel, silted-up roads, sand tracks and differences
in altitude of up to 3,000 meters [10,000 feet]. Out of a starting field
of 264 competitors, some 206 were no match for this circuit. The fact
that three of our sedans were able to win reflects the technical superiority of Mercedes-Benz automobiles: performance, roadholding,
light handling and driving comfort. In the case of the 300 SE, this is
achieved with power steering and air suspension – benefits which,
above all, helped to make the difficult but successful drive completed
by the women’s team considerably easier.”
The advert was indeed talking about “series-production cars”, but Böhringer disclosed the truth later: “From 1963 our 300 SE had the direct
injection system of the 300 SL. So the engines must have produced
200 to 210 hp.” The production model developed around 40 hp less –
just another piece of the jigsaw making up this story of success.
“Out of 264 teams,
206 were no match for
such a real test.”