M165
V8- 1651.5 L · 1,495 cc
257 PS
189 kW · 253 hp at 8,000 rpm
Mercedes-Benz Racing Car · W165 Voiturette
W165
1.5-liter Tripoli winner — the W165 voiturette.
- Production
- 1939
- Built
- 1
- Body
- Grand Prix / race
- Chassis
- W165
Built in weeks for a single race — the W165 was Mercedes-Benz's 1.5-liter voiturette riposte to Tripoli 1939, and it delivered one of the most famous one-two finishes in pre-war motorsport.
When the Italian Grand Prix organizers opened the Tripoli voiturette race to 1.5-liter cars, Mercedes-Benz had no suitable challenger — so the factory designed the W165 from scratch in roughly eight weeks: a supercharged V8 in a compact Silver Arrow chassis. At Tripoli on 7 May 1939, Hermann Lang took victory and Rudolf Caracciola finished second, shutting out the home favorites in a result that still defines the type.
The archive tables record a single W165 chassis for 1939. It was never a production car — a weapon built for one formula, one race weekend, and one unforgettable Mercedes-Benz triumph.
Every model.
1 distinct series across 1939 — each identified by its chassis and engine numbers from period factory data.
| Model | Model years | Chassis | Engine | Transmission | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W165 | 1939 | 165 | 165 | 1 |
* The published production figure covers every series of that model; the source does not break it down further.
Engines.
The M165 as fitted to the W165.