Morning Qualifying – Rennflosse edition
Walter Schock in his Mercedes Benz 220SE at the 1960 Monte Carlo Rally.
Jim’s “Fabulous Fins Weekend” features got me to thinking about one of MQ’s favorite unlikely rally cars, the Mercedes-Benz W111 and W112. After Mercedes-Benz pulled out Formula One and the World Sports Car Championship in the mid-1950′s, their board of directors enacted a ban forbidding all Daimler-Benz employees from participating in motor sport. Given how much the corporate competitive fires had been stoked by the achievements of 1952 through 1955, putting that genie back in the bottle proved to be problematic. To give the firm a competitive outlet, it was decided to hire former Grand Prix and sports car driver Karl Kling to succeed Alfred Neubauer, and to concentrate Mercedes efforts on rallying. Kling and Walter Schock became the backbone of the early works efforts, selectively campaigning the 300 SL Gullwing and various Ponton saloons. In 1957, they added Eugen Bohringer to the works team, who would prove to be their most successful driver. With the homologation of the new W111 220SE for the 1960 European Rally Championship, and the addition of Swedish driver Ewy Rosqvist von Korff, Mercedes Benz set out to dominate rallying.
Ewy Rosqvist at the 1962 Grand Prix of Argentina, a 3100 mile road race across the Argentine pampas. Rosqvist was the overall race winner, the only woman to achieve such a feat. Image Copyright The Daimler-Benz Archives
Over the next 4 seasons, the Mercedes Benz works team and their Rennflosse did indeed conquer rallying. Walter Schock won the driver’s European Rally Championship in 1960; Eugen Bohringer was co-champion with Rauno Aaltonen in 1961, and out right champion in 1962. Ewy Rosqvist won consecutive women’s titles in 1961 and 1962. The team won a stunning 4 consecutive Acropolis Rallies between 1960 and 1963. With the addition of a young Dieter Glemser in 1964, the Rennflosse went after the newly created European Touring Car Championship in the W112 300SE saloon. At the season’s halfway point, Bohringer had notched overall wins at the Nurburgring, Spa and Macau, and class wins in 5 out of 6 ETCC events. The clamor from the press speculating about Mercedes return to the upper reaches of motor sport became more than the board of directors could tolerate, and the efforts of the competition department were quietly wound down and the team disbanded at season’s end. Mercedes-Benz had made their point, and the racing ban was instituted once again.
Eugen Bohringer, on his way to a 3rd consecutive Acropolis Rally victory, in the W112 300SE. Image copyright The Daimler-Benz Archives.
oThe victorious W112 300SE of Eugen Bohringer and Dieter Glemser at the 1964 GP der Tourenwagen at the Nurburgring. Image copyright The Daimler Benz Archives.
The Mercedes Benz Works Rally team at the 1963 Acropolis Rally. Image copyright The Daimler Benz Archives.
Mercedes-Benz Rennflosse Victories
1960 Solitude Rally (Walter Schock)
1960 Acropolis Rally (Walter Schock)
1961 Coupe des Alpes (Eugen Bohringer)
1961 Tulip Rally (Eugen Bohringer)
1961 Rally Poland (Eugen Bohringer)
1961 Grand Prix of Argentina (Walter Schock)
1961 Acropolis Rally (Eugen Bohringer)
1962 Grand Prix of Argentina (Ewy Rosqvist)
1962 Liege-Sofia-Liege Rally (Eugen Bohringer)
1962 Solitude Rally (Eugen Bohringer)
1962 Midnight Sun Rally (Eugen Bohringer)
1962 Rally Poland (Eugen Bohringer)
1962 Acropolis Rally (Eugen Bohringer)
1962 Tulip Rally (Eugen Bohringer)
1963 Rally Deutschland (Eugen Bohringer)
1963 Acropolis Rally (Eugen Bohringer)
1963 Grand Prix of Argentina (Eugen Bohringer)
1964 Grand Prix of Macau (Eugen Bohringer)
1964 24 Hours of Spa (Robert Crevits/Taf Gosselin)
1964 Grosser Preis der Tourenwagen (Eugen Bohringer/Dieter Glemser)
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I have a new heroine…..Ewy Rosqvist. Not only did she win the 1962 Grand Prix of Argentina, but she was one of the most successful rally drivers, as evidenced by this photo.
<img src="http://www.automovilismoblog.com.ar/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Ewy_Rosqvist_Ursula_Wirth_5.jpg"width="500"/>
I hope for her sake she had Tarn-X as a corporate sponsor…
That's a shining example of good thinking!
Charles, I'm sure the Baroness von Korff (yep, that's her title) had someone tho handle those menial tasks.
In addition to her trophies and loving cups, Her Grace (?) has the silver spoon she was born with, then. Screw Tarn-X; have the help apply a little elbow grease and get their backs into it…
And I have another creepy crush on an old lady because once upon a time she was hot and did car stuff, dammit $kaycog.
<img src="http://www.prewarcar.com/images/stories/editor_images/ewy-rosqvist-1.jpg">
I think I may have start enjoying Camels
<img src="http://svammelsurium.blogg.se/images/2010/teknikensvrldcameladewyrosqvist_88176271.jpg" />
She was pretty hot, and for her age, I'd say that she still is hot………well, at least warm anyway.
Your avatar looks familiar………Dead Inside??
Enjoy your Camel…..hehehe.
what if she drove this?
<img src="http://imcdb.org/i001688.jpg">
Then I also envy her.
No one wants to be late to the day spa.
This settles it, who wants to start a land yacht rally team with me?
http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/rolls_…
Need something from Cadillac with a 500ci V-8 or maybe a Seville. Either the 1970s Nova based version (preferably a Gucci edition) so you could use all the Nova restomod goodies or a 1980s Bustleback Seville.
A fleetwood 75 could work too.
There used to be a guy that used one of those as the tow/support vehicle for his vintage race car, a Fiat 850. This would have been in the early 1990s.
The next car I'm restoring is a 61 Fleetwood 75 it's pure awesome
That settles it… I need a Heckflosse.
Scroggs, you forgot to mention that intrepid racers continue to add to the Fintail's competition pedigree in ways Herr Bohringer could only dream about: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/06/and-the-…
I prefer the "Hellflosse" as Tim so aptly named it, from the 1st Seconds Saturdays… http://hooniverse.com/2011/07/19/the-inaugural-se… photo of "Hellflosse" here.. .http://www.flickr.com/photos/47594612@N02/5944717190/