Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Rolling Chassis, Black Spaceframe

The frame is the reason the 300 SL looks as it does. Rudolf Uhlenhaut designed it as a spaceframe of chrome-molybdenum steel tubes, about 82 kg when finished, and its upper tubes ran along the sides at the height of the driver's elbow, too high for doors hinged in the usual way, so the doors were hinged in the roof. The M198 straight-six of 2,996 cc was laid over at 50 degrees to fit beneath the low bonnet, ran a dry sump to sit lower still, and took its fuel from Bosch mechanical direct injection in place of the carburettors of the W194 racing car. The coupé was shown at the New York International Auto Show in February 1954.

This model takes the body away and shows that structure whole. The black tubes carry the canted engine with its silver block and injection pipework, the gearbox and propshaft, the fuel tank and the spare wheel at the tail, with copper brake and fuel lines clipped along the frame. The small things are there too: Bosch coils and battery, an ATE brake reservoir, Koni dampers, German warning labels on the radiator tank, and a cream steering wheel and dashboard with VDO instruments. Continental tyres marked 6.50-15 sit on chromed wheels with star centres. The chassis stands on a high-gloss burr wood base with a pair of red axle stands beside it. It is built by hand at 1:5 scale from some 4,500 parts.