The two superstars of the 1952 season: Ferrari 500 F2 and Mercedes-Benz 300 SL ...
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Today Ferrari is the most successful of all Formula 1 teams. Their championship winning run started in 1952, with a Formula 2 car as for that year the Grand Prix World Championship was run under Formula 2 regulations. Timed perfectly, Ferrari replaced their first Formula 2 car with the brand new 500 F2. Debuting a straight four, it was the very first Ferrari not powered by a V12 engine. Enzo Ferrari's choice to adopt the four cylinder was inspired by the very potent British F2 cars that used a similar design. Alberto Ascari underlined that Ferrari's interpretation of the design was superior, winning all but one of the 1952 European rounds of the championship. The other was won by his team-mate Piero Taruffi. The success continued the following season although Ferrari did lose one of the European rounds to Juan Manuel Fangio. Ascari was the first Ferrari driver to be crowned World Champion, a feat he repeated a year later. The four-cylinder Ferraris were raced for many more seasons in various championships, often in highly modified form. Our article is illustrated by 12 pictures of two surviving cars. One of them was originally raced by Ascari and is considered one of the most successful Grand Prix chassis ever built.
While Ferrari dominated single seater racing, Mercedes-Benz picked up the big sports car trophy with the 300 SL Competition Coupe. It was the first of the German company's spaceframe designs that was developed into the W196 Grand Prix car and the legendary 'Gullwing' 300 SL. The Le Mans winning machine combined the cutting edge chassis with a road-car derived straight six engine. Like the later road car, it used 'gullwing' style doors to clear the relatively high sills. In preparation for the Le Mans race, Mercedes-Benz tested a roof mounted air-brake on one of the cars but decided not to race it. Both the Le Mans winning machine and the unsuccessful test car are pictured in our 18-shot gallery.
Enjoy the links:
[url=http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/724/Ferrari-500-F2.html]1952 - 1953 Ferrari 500 F2 - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]
[url=http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/2602/Mercedes-Benz-300-SL-Competition-Coupe.html]1952 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Competition Coupe - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]
Regards,
Wouter Melissen
