Mercedes-Benz Sport Racing Car · W196 Grand Prix

W196

Silver Arrow — Fangio's championship weapon.

Production
1954–1955
Built
10
Body
Grand Prix / race
Chassis
W196
Mercedes-Benz Sport Racing Car (W196)

The W196 was Mercedes-Benz's return to Formula One — a Grand Prix car of extraordinary sophistication that arrived in 1954 and immediately re-established the three-pointed star at the summit of motor racing.

Its 2.5-liter straight-eight engine used direct fuel injection and desmodromic valve actuation, mounted in a lightweight chassis available with enveloping streamliner bodywork for high-speed circuits or open-wheel configuration for tighter tracks. Juan Manuel Fangio won the World Championship in 1954 and 1955 driving the W196 — the car's record speaks without embellishment.

Mercedes-Benz built a small series of W196 chassis for the 1954 and 1955 seasons — streamliner and open-wheel versions sharing the same fundamental design. The program ended when the firm withdrew from racing at the close of the 1955 season.

W196 interior
Cabin details of the W196, as preserved in period photography.

Every model.

2 model designations across 1954–1955 — engines, chassis codes and production figures for the W196.

모델모델 연식생산 대수섀시엔진변속기합계
300 SLR19551955–1955196 S196 S9
W196 R19541954–1954196 R196 R1

* 공개된 생산 대수는 해당 모델의 전 시리즈를 포괄하며, 출처에서 더 세분화된 수치는 제공되지 않습니다.

W196 side profile
Studio profile of the W196 — the proportions that defined this chassis.
W196 rear three-quarter view
Rear three-quarter view of the W196.