Maisto 1:18 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR #722

If, by stretching the imagination, racecars can be said to be bred, then the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR would be that car. Germany had always been a strong contender on the racetracks of Europe, its two most famous marques, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz, running furiously alongside the cars of Ferrari, Alpha Romero, Maserati, Bugatti, and others. In 1931, Mercedes built its famous light bodied, supercharged, “Kompressor” cars to terrorize competitors all across the Continent. In 1952, engineer Rudolph Uhlenhaut designed the 300 SL series of cars to compete in races like the Mille Miglia, and refined them continuously until 1963. Using ultra-thin, “Electron,” aluminum-magnesium alloy skins, and technology from the W196 Grand Prix racecar, the 300 SLR became the epitome of the “form follows function” school of design. The result was an elegant, streamlined body with a pleasingly aesthetic shape—a symmetry of motion and form. Uhlenhaut added an aerodynamic trick to the 300 SLR for Grand Prix races such as the 24-hours of LeMans. He placed a deployable “air-brake” behind the driver to add drag when slowing down from the long straight-aways. After the turns, it could be dropped to restore the car’s wind-cheating characteristics. This hard-charging beast was powered by a 3-litre, straight-8, making 300 bhp and reaching a top speed of 290 kph. The unmuffled engine had an unmistakable, ear-shattering roar—among the loudest of the racecars of its day. Mercedes even made a unique, high-speed car carrier, called the “Blue Wonder,” to transport the car to its racing venues. An unfortunate, spectacular accident in 1955, when Pierre Levegh crashed into the audience at the 24-hours of LeMans, prompted the Mercedes-Benz team to drop out of competitive motor-sports for a number of years. Two coupe-bodied versions of the 300 SLR, with their instantly recognizable gull-wing doors, were made—one of them being designer Uhlenhaut’s personal ride. Today, two examples of the 300 SLR are on display at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Conte Aymo Maggi met with his friends Giovanni Canestrini, Count Franco Mazzotti, and Renzo Castagneto to discuss a race to challenge the Italian Grand Prix. They considered their hometown of Brescia to be the first home of Italian motor-racing and rankled at the change of venue of the Italian Grand Prix, in 1922, to the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Milan. The four men, dubbed “The Four Musketeers,” proposed a race to start at Brescia, run to Rome, and return to their beloved hometown—a distance of approximately 1,600 kilometers. Mazzotti exclaimed, “Why, that’s a thousand miles!” (actually 1,009 miles) and the “Mille Miglia” became a fixture in European motorsports. Castagneto was responsible for the planning and administration of the event. He held that position for all of the 24 Mille Miglias. The first Mille Miglia began on March 26th, 1927 and was run annually (with interruptions during WW II) until 1957. Stirling Moss, driving a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, won the ’57 race—which proved to be the last competition run—before the race was deemed too dangerous. Today, the Mille Miglia is run as a nostalgic, commemorative event with vintage cars, drawing millions to the roadsides of the familiar course marked with the historic Red Arrow. The following quote, by Enzo Ferrari, pays tribute to this race.

“When I talk about the Mille Miglia, I feel quite moved, for it played such a big part in my life. I knew it as a driver, a team director, and a constructor ... and was always an admirer of its champions. In fact, the Mille Miglia not only provided enormous technical advances during its three decades, it really did breed champions. I was present at every one of the twenty-four Mille Miglias that were run and was numbed by the tragic accident in 1957 when the marchese de Portago was killed driving one of my cars, causing the race to be banned. In my opinion, the Mille Miglia was an epoch-making event, which told a wonderful story. The Mille Miglia created our cars and the Italian automobile industry. The Mille Miglia permitted the birth of GT, or grand touring cars, which are now sold all over the world. The Mille Miglia proved that by racing over open roads for 1,000 miles, there were great technical lessons to be learned by the petrol and oil companies and by brake, clutch, transmission, electrical and lighting component manufacturers, fully justifying the old adage that ‘motor racing improves the breed.’” – Commendatore Enzo Ferrari

Lately, I've been reviewing 1:18-scale racing images, and find they have been growing on me. One of the reasons is that they are of cool cars generally not available in 1:24. Another reason is the price. Since I don’t generally collect in the 1:18 scale, I’m not eager to plop down too much cash too often. That’s where model manufacturers like Maisto come in. Once relegated to mall kiosks, at bargain-basement prices, I never gave such images a lot of thought. But, I've been pleasantly surprised of late. Take the 1:18-scale image of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR by Maisto, available for under $25. Frankly, I’m impressed with the overall quality of the image. Plop it down on the table in front of you and it looks great. And that great “look” holds up under closer scrutiny. First, the hood, trunk, and driver’s-side door all open—the hood having a built-in prop rod. The interior details are nicely done, with 3-D gauges and real, cloth-covered seats done in Mercedes plaid. The twin, aerodynamic headrests remove so that the trunk can be opened. Inside you’ll find two covered spare tires. The 1:18-scale engine under the hood is surprisingly detailed and looks convincing. The undercarriage, being completely covered, doesn’t show much detail, but there are full suspensions at each corner. The chromed, wire wheels, done in molded plastic, are gracefully done, right down to the three-lug center knock-off hubs. The chromed exhaust pipes are hollow and not just two chunks of cylindrical plastic. The paint job’s done in flawless silver and the racing numbers (#722), Mercedes logos and script, and British Union Jacks (this is a replica of Stirling Moss’s race-winning car) are beautifully tampoed-on. By way of a bonus, the image comes on a black plastic base with a nameplate. Maisto has won me over with the quality of this worthy reproduction of an historical racecar—and the price is certainly right. Why wait for the precision mints to do your favorite racing icons, when Maisto has released them in the larger 1:18 scale at such a reasonable price? I know there will be more of their 1:18 racecars in my future collecting budget.

Mercedes-Benz is a major player on the world stage, whether manufacturing automobiles for the driving public or ultra-fast vehicles for top racing teams. Cars like the 300 SLR are testament to their attention to design detail and exacting quality.

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