VIN: the works Mercedes-Benz W194 300 SL chassis 00009/52
History of chassis 00009/52
Chassis 00009/52 was one of ten W194 300 SLs built for the 1952 racing season. Of these, eight saw competitive action. An eleventh W194 was subsequently assembled to serve as a development mule for the W198 300 SL Gullwing production car.
00009/52 made its public debut at the 1952 Le Mans 24 Hours which took place over the weekend of June 14th and 15th. Three W194s raced at Le Mans, all of which were brand new and featured extended doors that now cut into the sides of the bodywork.
As for 00009/52, this particular example was allocated to Theo Helfrich and Helmut Niedermayr. It featured unique red fender flashes to aid identification from the pits. Grid positions were dictated by engine size which meant the Mercedes lined up ninth (00009/52), tenth (00007/52) and eleventh (00008/52).
After two hours racing, 00009/52 was the best placed Mercedes in fifth and by mid distance (4am on Sunday morning), Helfrich and Niedermayr had moved into second behind Pierre Levegh’s Talbot-Lago T26 GS which the Frenchman was driving solo.
With one hour to go, it seemed that Levegh was set for a fairytail victory, but the Talbot-Lago broke a con-rod near Maison Blanche and the Mercedes of Lang / Riess (which was a lap ahead of Helfrich / Niedermayr) swept into first and second where they ultimately finished.
For the W194’s next outing, a Formula 1 support race held for Sports cars at the 1952 German Grand Prix on August 3rd, Mercedes sent four chassis to the Nurburgring, all of which were in Spyder trim with a new side-exiting exhaust system.
00009/52 (silver with red fender flashes) was allocated to Fritz Riess who qualified fourth.
When Robert Manzon’s Gordini retired, the race turned into a Mercedes benefit. Riess finished third behind team-mates Lang and Kling.
For its final outing, 00009/52 wore white fender flashes. It was part of a three-car entry at the season-ending 1934-mile Carrera Panamericana with the other two cars having been Gullwing Coupes. The Spyder was driven by John Fitch / Eugen Geiger; all three Mercedes ran bored out 3.1-litre engines.
Unfortunately, while the sister cars finished first and second, 00009/52 was disqualified on the final leg for having received outside assistance after a mechanic had reputedly touched the car on the penultimate stage.
00009/52 has not been seen in public since 1953 and its whereabouts remain a mystery.
Notable History
Daimler-Benz
300 SL Coupe
Registered W83 3786
Silver with Red noseband
15/06/1952 IND Le Mans 24 Hours (T. Helfrich / H. Niedermayr) 2nd oa, 2nd S3.0 class (#20)
Converted to Spider trim
Silver with Red flashes
03/08/1952 IND German GP Support Race, Nurburgring (F. Riess) 3rd oa, 3rd S3.0 class (#22)
Silver with White flashes
23/11/1952 IND Carrera Panamericana (J. Fitch / E. Geiger) DSQ (#6)
Disappeared from view
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Mercedes-Benz - https://www.mercedes-benz.com
