Any fact that fueled the nationalism that pre-war Nazi Germany experienced was not only welcomed but sought after. Much more so if what was achieved demonstrated some world supremacy. What better then than to build the fastest car in the world.
The German state sought to achieve any achievement that would mark superiority both technically and in sports. That is why it allocated millions of marks to promote projects that demonstrated that avant-garde.
Auto Union (today Audi) and Mercedes-Benz received these investments and developed prototypes, evolving into competition models. The government was in charge of closing sections of the brand new highways and companies fought to take all the prestige of being the fastest.
This is the story of the T 80, the six-wheeled Mercedes-Benz with an aircraft engine, which was designed by Ferdinand Porsche and financed by Adolf Hitler’s government. In those years, automobile competition was flourishing throughout the world and the Germans were not the only ones seeking to be the fastest. Their great enemies were the British, who had been improving their records.
At the beginning of 1938, with pilot Rudolf Caracciola in command, a Mercedes-Benz W125 with a 736 horsepower engine and a futuristic fairing figure, reached 432.7 km/h on a section of the highway between Frankfurt and Darmstadt. . For its part, Auto Union responded with Bernd Rosenmeyer at the wheel, but on its third attempt the car spun off at more than 400 km/h, which caused the accident that ended up costing the German driver his life.
But that didn’t stop the search for more speed. Another pilot, Hans Stück, was a friend of Hitler and obtained money to finance what was going to be the project that sought maximum glory. It was necessary to beat the British, who already at the end of 1937 had managed to reach 502 km/h.
Already in 1936 Stück had contacted Mercedes-Benz to have a meeting. On that occasion he suggested that the star brand should build a vehicle designed exclusively to achieve the world speed record. For that he had to be powered by a Daimler aircraft engine.
And the person in charge of designing the vehicle was none other than Ferdinand Porsche, who had been head of engineering at Mercedes until 1928. And on March 11, 1937, a contract was signed that united Daimler-Benz AG and Porsche in all areas. engine and vehicle design areas.
Thus, in addition to working together on some racing cars, commercial vehicles and engines, the design of the T 80 began, which was called to be the fastest car on the planet. To start the development, Hitler’s government invested 600 thousand marks, which at that time represented an enormous sum.
On April 6, Porsche presented its plans for the T 80. These outlined a multi-stage development process, from an initial twin-engine proposal to a final single-engine concept. This last idea already showed most of the characteristics of a truly unique vehicle, even taking into account current standards.
The car was to have three axles, one front and two rear, and was to be powered by a 12-cylinder V-shaped aircraft engine, centrally located but reverse arranged. Porsche calculated at that time that, to achieve a record speed of 550 km/h, it was necessary to cover a distance of 5 kilometers, so the engine power would have to be at least 2,200 horsepower or, better still, 2,500.
The T 80 took shape as 1938 progressed. In October, Ferdinand Porsche saw the wooden mock-up of the body together with the employees. It was time to define the types of steel panels for the body and decide on the details of the seat and cabin. At the same time, the structure that would support the bodywork had to be formulated. On October 26, 1938, the Mercedes-Benz racing department recorded in a report proving that the first welded frame weighed 224 kilograms.
Both the chassis and body frame were completed by the end of November 1938, and it was planned that all the large parts of the vehicle would be ready by the end of January 1939. A note dated November 26, 1938 documented that If the aircraft engine could be delivered by then, the chassis could be assembled by the end of February 1939. The body would be completed in May of that year.
The wheels also had to be special. Tire manufacturer Continental tested tires intended for the T 80 on a test bench, and during a high-speed test at 500 km/h, found severe deformation of the wire-spoke wheels. Meanwhile, Porsche continued with its calculations of power and distance to travel. Thus he reached a new conclusion: to reach 600 km/h, a distance of 13.73 kilometers and a power of 2,750 HP or 11.48 kilometers with 3,000 HP would be necessary.
That is why the DB-603 engine was installed, the same as the Messerschmitt Bf-109, a combat fighter. The engine was an inverted V12 with a displacement of 44.5 liters, supercharged by a huge compressor. Although it originally delivered 1,750 HP, they managed to reach the ideal figure according to previous calculations: 3,000 HP at 3,200 rpm.
Aerodynamics were key. Measurements were made with a model of the T 80 in the wind tunnel of the Zeppelin company, the same as the airships. The goal was to find the optimal level of downforce, strong enough to bring the engine’s full power to the road, but as low as possible so as not to overload the tires with their thin tread surfaces.
That is why two enormous side wings were used to provide aerodynamic support, as well as two tails, a flat bottom and a completely faired cabin. The T 80 measured 8.24 meters long, 3.20 meters wide and 1.74 meters high. Despite such a size, it only weighed 2,896 kilos, of which 920 belonged to the engine.
Hitler had nicknamed him “Black Bird” and his record attempt was to take place at Rekordwoche (Record Week) in 1940. He was to be painted black, sporting the party’s eagle and swastika emblem. national socialist
The speed goal was ambitious: to become the fastest car on the planet. And the forecasts of the time agree that it would have achieved it easily: it was estimated that the T 80 could have reached 650 km/h without problems. Others claim that 750 km/h were possible. But in September 1939, Germany invaded Poland and the Second World War began.
In June 1940, a final report for the project was produced and the T 80 was put into storage. And the DB 603 engine to achieve the world speed record for a car was returned to the Ministry of Aviation.
The parts of the vehicle were preserved, first together and then separately. Since 2006, the T 80 has been exhibited in the German brand’s museum in Stuttgart, with the original body, tubular structure and wheels, but without its heavy chassis.
But in 2018, the T 80 left Mercedes’ borders and was displayed outside of Germany for the first time. Fate wanted its first international foray to be at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, England, exactly the place of origin of those who were then the owners of speed.
