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1959 Mercedes-Benz 220 S Rally Car
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Date Posted
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1113
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Thu October 12, 2006
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Description:
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1959 Mercedes-Benz 220 S Rally Car
Driven in the 2000 Around The World Motor Challenge
From the early days of automotive history, log-distance road rallies were excellent ways for automobile companies to display the reliability of their cars and to get a lot of free publicity. Other long-distance challenges were competitive, including the famous 1907 Paris-to-Peking rally and the 1908 New York to Paris ralley. Over time, the number of these events dwindled, and in many cases, disappeared altogether.
In the late 1980's, the Classic Rally Association (CRA) of England revitalized the rally race, sponsoring a series of long-distance rallies usually featuring car built befor 1960. Some of the CRA's events even duplicated those famous early races, including the Peking-to-Paris. In 2000, the CRA's event was "Around the World in 80 Days Motor Challenge." The Challenge began in London on May 1, 2000 and took the 100 pre-1968 vehicles through Europe and Asia until the cars reached Beijing. The cars and drivers were then airlifted to Alaska, where the rally continued through Canada and the United States. The cars and drivers were then airlifted from Newark to Morocco, where the cars drove through the fringes of the Sahara Desert, and then crossed to Spain, into France, and the final ferry back to London, finishing up on July 18th.
This Mercedes was driven by a team consisting of automotive journalist Keven Clemens and Cleveland-area dentist, Dr. Mark Rinkel, both of whom had extensive rally experience. Clemens wanted to use a Mercedes-Benz due in part to the company's long history of building robust cars. They found this 1959 Mercedes in West Virginia and bought it for $4,400 and towed it back to Cleveland where it underwent substantial preperation for the gruelling task it faced. The gas tank was removed and replaced with by an explosion-proof fuel cell which was placed in the reconstructed trunk. The back seat was removed to provide storage space for spare parts and tools. For safety, a roll cage was installed and the original seats were replaced with special racing seats and 5-point safety belts. Newer-style disc brakes were install from a 60's-vintage Mercedes, as well as a newer transmission with a floor shift, rather than on the column. Special shock absorbers and springs were installed to give the car more ground clearance, and a skid plate was welded to the car's underside to protect if from rocks. The drivers even had a shock-resistant cd-player installed so they could enjoy music on their long trip!
As would be expected, the Mercedes experience numerous mechanical difficulties during the 20,000 test of endurance, but these were overcome with skill, ingenuity, generosity of strangers, and help from the Mercedes-Benz company. This car finished 14th place out of the 40 teams to complete the race, even though it had to be towed the last twenty-feet!!
Right after the rally, the car was shipped back to the U.S. and donated to the museum. It has not been changed in any way, or even cleaned. The dirt and bugs you see on the car and the empty water bottles inside all came from the rally.
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Keywords:
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1959 Mercedes-Benz 220 S Rally Car
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(1):
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Remarkable Cars
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(2):
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Crawford Museum, Cleveland, OH
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;)
