Is it a car? By definition yes, however, it’s certainly not one that you’ll find at your local Mercedes-Benz dealership, or maybe ever at all. This is the 1938 Mercedes-Benz W125 Rekordwagen, an experimental automobile that was built to accomplish one main objective, to go as fast as possible in a straight line. As you can see, the engineers at Mercedes-Benz worked diligently to create an extremely streamlined body, which would result in actually breaking a world speed record. Thanks to a powerful 5.6-liter V12 with 700+hp, and an extremely aerodynamic-focused design, on January 28th of 1938, racing driver Rudolf Caracciola drove this car on the German Autobahn near Frankfurt and clocked in with an average top speed of 268.8 mph. To achieve this alone is impressive, but to do so in 1938, over 80 years ago, is quite unheard of. So unheard of, that it took 79 years for the record to be broken, which was eventually done by Koenigsegg. The record for ‘The fastest ever officially timed speed on a public road’ was officially broken in the Koenigsegg Agera RS, driven by race driver and factory test driver, Niklas Lilja, in November of 2017, where he achieved a record of 276.9 mph on a closed highway in Nevada. Between the elongated design, the futuristic wheel covers, and the performance capability, the Mercedes-Benz W125 Rekordwagen was way ahead of it’s time for the late 1930’s, and could still impress crowds today. Being able to achieve speeds north of 260mph is still quite competitive against today’s most modern and high-performance hypercars, and the engine was cooled with an ice-cooling system that used 11 pounds of ice and 12.6 gallons of water to cool the car’s massive V12 engine. It’s reported that the experimental Mercedes-Benz W125 Rekordwagen sits proudly in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany these days.
How many made? 1
Engine: 5,576.75 cc MD 25 DAB/3 60 Degree V12 with 700+HP
Debut: n/a
Top Speed: near 260-270mph
0-60mph: n/a
Photo Credit: @aldairion
Research: @rarecarsonly