Miguel Sánchez
Seen in perspective, the Mercedes ssk from 1928 is not only one of the peaks in Ferdinand Porsche's extensive career but also the final symbol of an entire era. A time in which gaining speed was synonymous with growing in displacement and therefore also in weight.
Something against which the disruptive W25 of 1933 rebelled. A single-seater completely different to what was represented by the SSK and which, in the end, opened an era diametrically opposed to the previous one.
But let's go in parts. This being the case, it would be best to go back to the end of the 19th century to understand the early genius of Ferdinand Porsche.
Known for his work on Lohner hybrids with wheel hub motors, this engineer born in 1875 He acceded to the technical direction of Austro-Daimler preceded by an evident prestige in relation to meticulous work and a taste for innovation.
TOWARDS A SPORTS PARADIGM
Likewise, soon he was already signing cars like the Maja with a 5.7-liter engine. A wide and heavy sedan, which did not prevent our protagonist from also demonstrating an increasingly pronounced interest so, in purity, we could already define as first designs “Sports" or "racing".
Something very well exemplified by the Prinz Heinrich Wagen of 1910. A car with a four-cylinder engine, 5.715 cc and 95 HP that, however, expressed an obvious concern for the weight reduction as can be seen in its narrow body subtly adjusted to the edge of the chassis side members.
What's more, in relation to racing this model had for a time the world speed record while, according to various motor historians, it could well be considered one of the first clearly sports models in the history of the automobile.
ADS-R “SASHA", A WARNING OF WHAT WAS TO ARRIVE
Before talking about the new sports concepts coming from the head of Ferdinand Porsche, it is good to contemplate the surrounding panorama a little. In that sense, it is most illustrative to take a look at the Alfa Romeo RL from 1921. Presented in a Normale version - saloon with various bodies -, this was also offered in the Sport in the form of an authentic GP model. In fact, won the 1923 Targa-Florio.
Right off the bat, this already gives us a clue about how, in those years, competition designs used to be direct derivatives of touring cars. That is to say, We are not talking about excessive specialization. In addition, its engine with six in-line cylinders and more than 3 liters added kilos along with the chassis to almost a ton.
And, not in vain, there were still several years before it arrived Vittorio Jano to Alfa Romeo with its recipes based on reduce displacement and weight while increasing the compression ratio or improving carburetion.
However, faced with this panorama, Ferdinand Porsche had the intelligent audacity to present in 1922 the Austro-DaimlerSascha” ADS-R. Small and innovative, it had an engine with only four cylinders and 1.099 cc to produce 50 HP. Enough to move its 600 kilos effectively; even more so if we consider the reduced wheelbase and the low center of gravity for the time.
THE FIRST COMPRESSOR DESIGNS
Far from being a simple rarity at the time, the “Sascha" swept during the Targa-Florio of 1922 taking the first three positions in its category with three units. However, despite those successes, Ferdinand Porsche left Austro-Daimler the following year to take up the position of chief designer at Daimler-Motoren-Gesellchaft (DMG), Stuttgart.
A company with enormous technological potential, where it quickly began to experiment with the action of volumetric compressors a few years ahead of Tim Birkin and Amherst Villiers with their "Blower” based on the Bentley 4 ½. What's more, in 1924 - the year in which DMG merged with Benz - one of its two-liter Mercedes Kompressors won the Targa-Florio.
From here, the German's creative genius was unleashed not only by applying volumetric compressor supercharging to touring models such as the 24/100/140 Type 630 -with 6.240 cc to achieve 160 HP at 3.100 rpm-, but also designing engines for industrial vehicles and even airplanes. And, like Marc Birkigt in The Hispano-Suiza, a good engineer must know how to move in several fields at the same time.
MERCEDES SSK, THE PARADOX OF FERDINAND PORSCHE
Launched in the use of compressors at the service of performance, Ferdinand Porsche presented the design of the Mercedes SSK in 1928. One of his most emblematic cars and, at the same time, paradoxical. And, as we have seen, just about six years before he had achieved great success thanks to his small and light “Sascha".
However, far from continuing to explore that route based on the smallest displacement and contained weight - on the other hand recovered in that prologue of the 356 that was the Type 64 for the Berlin-Rome of 1939 - our protagonist paradoxically got involved in the hackneyed formula of increasing power at whatever cost.
In this way, the Mercedes SSK weighed 1.700 kilos - almost three times what was marked by the “Sascha”- mounting a block with six cylinders and 7.069 cc with supercharging to produce up to 300 HP depending on the settings more “tight"With a torque of 680 Nm. To give us an idea, that of a 2018 Toyota Prius does not exceed 163 Nm at 3.200 rpm according to the most optimistic technical sheet.
A CHAMPION IN RACING
Activated only by pressing the accelerator pedal to the floor, the volumetric compressor pushed the Mercedes SSK up to 190 km/h. A figure more than enough to place it among the fastest models of its time, thus achieving numerous trophies and awards among which stands out the victory in the 1931 Mille Miglia with the duo formed by Rudolf Caracciola and Wilhelm Sebastian.
By the way, with a panoply of Alfa Romeo units worth seeing thanks to positioning twelve models of the Italian house among the first fourteen positions. A transalpine bliss that, curiously, would put an end the replacement for the Mercedes SSK.
And after the departure of Ferdinand Porsche to the Austrian Steyr in 1929, the star brand experienced a happy mechanical continuity until the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) announced some new rules for the 1934 European Drivers' Championship.
MERCEDES W25, THE BEGINNING OF THE SILVER ARROWS AND THE END OF THE SSK
Seeking to limit the escalation of benefits in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the AIACR set the maximum weight at 750 kilos without counting liquids or tires. Limits in which the Mercedes SSK obviously did not enter, therefore designing an absolutely revolutionary replacement in the form of the W25 presented in autumn 1933.
Of course, thanks to its eight-cylinder in-line engine with hemispherical combustion chambers and fed by two carburetors together with a volumetric compressor, that single-seater delivered - already in its first version - 354 CV to 5.800 rpm easily exceeding 300 km/h.
In the end, a very interesting point of view in relation to what the GP cars should have been like since, even though they have three times more displacement than the bare “Sascha"His benefits had a lot to do with his bare weight. Something that, as we saw, Ferdinand Porsche already seemed to have announced in 1922 despite having later dedicated himself to creations as forceful as the Mercedes SSK.
