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25-473: World-renowned German auto racer Hans Stuck 's pet project was to take the world land speed record and he convinced Mercedes-Benz to build a special racing car for the attempt. Officially supported by Adolf Hitler (a race car fan influenced by Stuck), the project was started in 1937. Automotive designer Dr Ferdinand Porsche first targeted a speed of 550 km/h (342 mph), but after George Eyston 's and John Cobb 's successful LSR runs of 1938 and 1939

50-529: A drag coefficient of 0.18, an astonishingly low figure for any vehicle. As ambitiously planned, Hans Stuck would have driven the T80 over a special stretch of the Reichsautobahn Berlin — Halle/Leipzig, which passed south of Dessau (now part of the modern A9 Autobahn ) between the modern A9 freeway's exits 11 and 12, which was 25 m (82 ft) wide and almost 10 km (6 mi) long with

75-525: A 1,500 cc MG. The massive 44.5 litre Daimler-Benz DB 603 inverted V12 was selected to power the record-setting car. The engine was an increased displacement derivative of the famous DB-601 aircraft engine that powered the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter in production at the time, with the DB 603 ending up as the largest displacement inverted V12 aviation engine in production for Germany during

100-594: A circuit race (the German Grand Prix ) that year as well. In 1931, Austro-Daimler left racing, and Stuck eventually wound up driving a Mercedes-Benz SSKL in sports car racing , where he continued to excel. In 1933, his acquaintance with Adolf Hitler (whom he had met by chance on a hunting trip in 1925) led to his involvement with Ferdinand Porsche and Auto Union in Hitler's plans for German auto racing. With his experience from racing up mountain passes in

125-426: A footprint of just 4,800 square metres (52,000 sq ft). The double helix also corresponds to the exhibition concept, which divides the museum into the "legend rooms" and the "collections", offering two alternative tours that can be merged at any given point of the museum. The museum contains more than 160 vehicles, some dating back to the very earliest days of the motorcar engine. The vehicles are maintained by

150-823: Is an automobile museum in Stuttgart , Germany. It covers the history of the Mercedes-Benz brand and the brands associated with it. Stuttgart is home to the Mercedes-Benz brand and the international headquarters of the Mercedes-Benz Group . The current building, which stands directly outside the main gate of the Daimler factory in Stuttgart, was designed by UN Studio . It is based on a unique cloverleaf concept using three overlapping circles with

175-501: The Alps in the 1920s, he was virtually unbeatable when he got the new Auto Union car , which was designed by Porsche. Its rear mounted engine provided superior traction compared to conventional front engine designs, so that its (eventually) 500+ horse-power could be transformed into speed even on non-paved roads. In circuit racing, the new car was very hard to master, though, due to the swing axle rear suspension design in combination of

200-493: The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center of Fellbach . Previously, the museum was housed in a dedicated building within the factory complex and visitors had in recent decades been transported from the main gate by a secured shuttle. The museum provides visitors with free audio tours in a variety of languages. In 2023, the museum was visited by 800,245 people. Visitors are also offered the opportunity to take

225-543: The European Mountain Championship fell to his famous team-mate, Bernd Rosemeyer . 1937 was equally lean, bringing only second places in the 1937 Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix and 1937 Belgian Grand Prix . 1938 opened poorly; Stuck was either fired from, or quit, the Auto Union team (accounts from the two sides differ). After a series of injuries to other team drivers, as well as pressure from

250-529: The German government (again, accounts differ as to what combination of factors was the cause), he was re-hired, and proved himself by winning a third European Mountain Championship, his last major pre-war success. After the war, although Germans were banned from racing until 1950, Stuck obtained Austrian citizenship and immediately continued racing. A link with Alex von Falkenhausen (not to be confused with

275-498: The Mountains". Stuck's experience with car racing started in 1922 with early morning runs bringing milk from his farm to Munich , shortly after his first marriage. This eventually led to his taking up hill-climbing; he won his first race, at Baden-Baden, in 1923. A few years later, after a year as a privateer for Austro-Daimler , he became a works driver for them in 1927, doing well in hill climbs, and making his first appearance in

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300-400: The T80 incorporated a Porsche -designed enclosed cockpit, low sloping bonnet, rounded wings, and elongated tail booms. Midway down the body were two small wings to provide downforce and ensure stability - these wings were inspired by the wings of Fritz von Opel 's Opel-RAK from 1928. The heavily streamlined twin-tailed body (forming the fairings for each pair of tandem rear wheels) achieved

325-677: The World War II years. The DB-603 fitted was just the third prototype (V3) engine of this variant and tuned up to 3,000 hp (2,237 kW; 3,042 PS), roughly twice the power of the Bf ;109 or the Supermarine Spitfire . The engine ran on a special mixture of methyl alcohol (63%), benzene (16%), ethanol (12%), acetone (4.4%), nitrobenzene (2.2%), avgas (2%), and ether (0.4%) with MW (methanol-water) injection for charge cooling and as an anti-detonant. The difficulty of

350-476: The center removed to form a triangular atrium recalling the shape of a Wankel engine . The building was completed and opened on 19 May 2006. Architecture and exhibition concept are closely interwoven, as exhibition designer HG Merz had already been commissioned before the architecture competition in 2001. The building's height and "double helix" interior were designed to maximise space, providing 16,500 square metres (178,000 sq ft) of exhibition space on

375-452: The challenge was met with money and engineering genius. By 1939, the T80 was fully completed at a cost of RM 600,000. The car was over 8 m (26 ft) long, had three axles with two of them driven, weighed over 2.7 metric tons (three short tons ), and produced 3,000 hp (2,237 kW; 3,042 PS) together with the aerodynamics of specialist Josef Mickl to attain a projected speed of 750 km/h (466 mph). Aerodynamically,

400-491: The contemporaneous general of the same name) led to Stuck driving for his team in Formula Two racing, although with little success. He drove a Porsche Spyder in 1953, also with no success. A liaison with BMW , starting in 1957, was more fruitful, although his first hill-climbs for them (in a Type 507 ) were not. A switch to their tiny BMW 700 RS did the trick, and at age 60, he became German Hillclimb Champion for

425-687: The event was cancelled and the T80 garaged. The DB 603 aircraft engine was subsequently removed during the war while the vehicle was moved to safety and storage in Kärnten, Austria . The T80 survived the war and was eventually moved into the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart for permanent display. The T80 is currently on display at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart - Bad Cannstatt . Hans Stuck Hans Erich Karl Josef Stuck (pronounced "shtook" ; sometimes called Hans Stuck von Villiez ; 27 December 1900 – 9 February 1978)

450-737: The first of three he would eventually collect. In 1935, he won the Italian Grand Prix (along with second at the German Grand Prix; he also won his usual collection of hill-climb wins, again taking the European Mountain Championship. 1936 was leaner; he placed second in the Tripoli and German Grands Prix, finishing second in the competition for the European Championship. After Stuck missed a number of hill-climbs because of injuries suffered in accidents, that year

475-648: The last time. He decided to retire on a high note, and thereupon closed his professional driving career. As an instructor on the Nürburgring , he taught his son Hans-Joachim the secrets of this challenging circuit. Stuck was born in Warsaw in 1900. Although his parents were of Swiss ancestry, they had moved to Germany by the time Stuck was born, and he grew up there. He was called up for military service in World War I in 1917. In 1918, his older brother Walter

500-535: The median paved over as the Dessauer Rennstrecke (Dessau racetrack). The date was set for the January 1940 "RekordWoche" (Record Week), but the war begun on September 1, 1939 prevented the T80 run. In 1939, the vehicle had been unofficially nicknamed Schwarzer Vogel (Black Bird) by Adolf Hitler and was to be painted in German nationalistic colours, complete with German eagle and Nazi swastika , but

525-564: The rise of the Nazis , but his personal relationship with Hitler saved him from serious trouble. In 1939, he met Christa Thielmann, at that point engaged to Paula's youngest brother. Stuck and Paula divorced in 1948, and he married Christa that year. Their son, Hans-Joachim Stuck , was born in 1951. Christa died in 2014, at the age of 93. ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) Mercedes-Benz Museum The Mercedes-Benz Museum

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550-603: The target speed was raised to 600 km/h (373 mph). By late 1939, when the project was finished, the target speed was a much higher 750 km/h (466 mph). This would also be the first attempt at the absolute land speed record on German soil, Hitler envisioned the T80 as another propaganda triumph of German technological superiority to be witnessed by all the world, courtesy of German television. The same Autobahn course had already been proven ideal for record-breaking in smaller capacity classes, Britain's Goldie Gardner having exceeded 200 mph (322 km/h) there in

575-549: The weight distribution of its rear engine design. His career with Auto Union was quite successful. In 1934, he won the German, Swiss and Czechoslovakian Grand Prix races (as well as finishing second in the Italian Grand Prix and Eifelrennen ). There was no European Championship for the circuit races that year, or he would have won it. Wins in a number of hill-climb races brought him European Mountain Champion,

600-461: Was a German motor racing driver. Both his son Hans-Joachim Stuck (born 1951) and his grandsons Johannes and Ferdinand Stuck became race drivers. Despite many successes in Grand Prix motor racing for Auto Union in the early 1930s, during the era of the famous " Silver Arrows ", he is now mostly known for his domination of hillclimbing , which earned him the nickname "Bergkönig" or "King of

625-438: Was killed, along with Walter's commanding officer; as a result, Stuck met the commander's sister, Ellen Hahndorff, and they were married in 1922. After several years, Stuck's involvement in the fast life on the track as well as off it caused them to split up and divorce. In 1931, he met Paula von Reznicek , a famous tennis player; they were married in 1932. The fact that she had a Jewish grandfather caused Stuck some problems with

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