Mercedes, the arrows cut from the 24 Hours of Le Mans

If the first official entry of a car bearing the Star dates back to 1952, Sarthe had already dealt with machines from Stuttgart two decades earlier, during the eighth edition, in 1930. The man who registered at his own expense a SSK is none other than Rudolf Caracciola. The German press has already given him the nickname “Regenmeister” (the master of the rain) because of his skill on wet roads, but he is still just a simple Mercedes dealership in Berlin. The man who subsequently won three European Drivers' titles (1935, 1937, 1938) used to drive his imposing white SSK in Grands Prix across the Old Continent, but the 24 Hours of Le Mans represented a major challenge. No problem for this behemoth next to which the Bentleys pale in comparison. The SSK (for Supersport Kurz, Supersport court) is based on the Mercedes S, a car aimed at wealthy customers, from which an engineer removed 48 cm of chassis length in order to improve agility. And not just any engineer since it is Ferdinand Porsche. Yes, “the” Mr. Porsche! The 6-cylinder engine has a displacement that would make fans of “downsizing” shudder, with 7.1 liters. Add to that a compressor and you obtain unrivaled power for the time of between 200 and 250 horsepower. The compressor system is gone