CMC 1/18 M-246 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupé Chassis No. 0007/55 with a Figurine
Limited edition 500 pcs! 1:18 scale
The 300 SLR racer won almost everything in 1955, from Mille Miglia, Tourist Trophy, Targa Florio, to Eifelrennen, thus allowing Mercedes-Benz to be crowned with the laurels of the 1955 World Sportscar Champion. Its light aluminum body, surrealistic styling, and extreme acceleration made it one of the iconic cars of the 50s.
The winning streak would have continued in the coupe version that Rudolf Uhlenhaut had developed for the 1956 season. Two prototypes of this masterpiece of power and elegance were built – chassis 00007/55 and 00008/55. Unfortunately, the company chose to cancel its motorsport program at the end of the 1955 season, after the horrific crash of Pierre Levegh at Le Mans that claimed eighty-four casualties. The coupé project was shelved for ever.
As the head of the Test Department, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, decided to use one of the two coupés as a personal company car, hence the nickname “Uhlenhaut Coupe”. Over the years, people testing the Uhlenhaut Coupé said it was even better than the 300 SLR racer.
In December 1956, a road test was conducted of the coupé by the US magazine Motor Trend in conjunction with two journalists from Automobile Revue. After a cross-country trek of more than 2000 miles (3500 km), it was reported, “We are driving a car that barely takes a second to overtake the rest of the traffic and for which 120 mph on a quiet motorway is little more than walking pace. With its unflappable handling through corners, it treats the laws of centrifugal force with apparent disdain.” The reporter’s only regret was that this was a sports car “which we will never be able to buy and which the average driver would never buy anyway.
Not only was Uhlenhaut a genius, but he was also a talented driver actively involved in test-driving his own brainchildren, such as the W125 that dominated the 1937 Grand Prix season, the W154 for 1938, the victorious W194 (300 SL), and the famous W196, among others. In terms of time spent test-driving the W196, Uhlenhaut even surpassed Juan Manuel Fangio. He drove the SLR Coupé 0007/55 all the way from Stuttgart to the 1955 Swedish GP at Kristianstad and then continued to test it in the practice session.
The 300 SLR coupé has become a legend in its own right. If you want to see the original Uhlenhaut coupé, you have to visit the Daimler Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Mercedes-Benz holds onto it as a crown jewel that is not for sale. But CMC has made this virtually unattainable model available to you! If you want to see it every day, just put our unparalleled intricate model on display in your cabinet, together with a figurine of its architect Rudolf Uhlenhaut!
