About puzzle #181: Mercedes W118 / W119

• 
• 
• 
• 

All our regular players were present, once again, with their answers to last week’s motoring mystery. And all of them had it right. This was the Mercedes-Benz W118 / W119 prototype, developed under the wings of Ludwig Kraus who was sent to Auto Union (owned by the mighty M-B at the time) soon after, taking the blueprints with him.

Both Alan Spencer as Henk Visscher knew something the others did not know (or did not mention), as the W118 and W119 prototype (or mock-up?) were in fact one and the same car. Spencer: “Mercedes W118/W119 prototype, configured as a 4-door on one side, and a 2-door on the other.” Visscher: “Design model, styled by Paul Bracq, for a compact four-door (left side) and two-door (right side) Mercedes-Benz, designated project W118 (with 1.5-litre boxer engine) and W119 (with 1.7-litre 4-cylindre inline engine M118).”

A further selection from your answers: “Developed to re-enter the more mass-produced market segments”, “Although a four-door prototype was built, bearing the AU-rings rather than the MB-star, no production followed”, “Mercedes owned Auto Union, and the baby Mercedes could become a restart for the slumbering DKW brand”, “Ludwig Kraus was responsible for its layout, featuring front wheel drive and initially a 1500 cc flat-four, soon to be replaced by the 1700 cc inline-four high-compression engine M118”, “In 1964, Mercedes sold DKW to Volkswagen that developed the F103, first postwar Audi based on Mercedes W118 design”, “The wide grill with large emblem were features shared with the Pagode”.

What did strike us in all of your answers, however, was the sheer pragmatism. We were expecting an overwhelming number of congratulations to Gerd Klioba for winning the first round of PostWarClassic puzzles new style. There was just one, coming in from Fritz Hegeman. He wrote: “Dear-Postwarclassic-crew, first please find my congratulations to Gerd Klioba and the other competitors - and thanks to you for this great weekend-stuff! Let’s start with #181: “Mercedes W118 prototype (1958), developed by Ludwig Kraus, planned for the Auto-Union, at that time a Daimler-Benz controlled company. 4-cylinder boxer, 1.5-l, fwd, later for the next evolutionary step W119 with 4 cylinder in-line, 1.7l high pressure engine (11.2:1). The intention was to build a smaller car to find a way into the modern mass market. Also built as a coupe study. In 1964, Auto-Union was sold to Volkswagen, and on the basis of the W118, the Audi 72 (F103, first post-war Audi) was launched in 1965 and the start of the successful Audi story of recent decades.” That’s the spirit Fritz! It makes you this week’s winner. Congratulations to you!


   

Ajoutez un commentaire...