Mercedes-Benz W02
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Mercedes-Benz Typ Stuttgart 200 (1929–1933)
Mercedes-Benz W02 (1929–1933)
16,956 built
| Mercedes-Benz Typ 8/38 PS / Typ Stuttgart 200 (W 02) | |
|---|---|
 Mercedes-Benz 8/38 PS (1927) | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Daimler-Benz AG |
| Also called | Mercedes-Benz 8/38 PS (1926–1933) Mercedes-Benz Typ Stuttgart 200 (1929–1933) Mercedes-Benz W02 (1929–1933) |
| Production | 1926–1933 16,956 built |
| Assembly | Germany: Stuttgart, |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | Torpedo-bodied "Tourenwagen" 2- & 4-door "Limousine" (sedan/saloon) Cabriolets |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1,988 cc In line six-cylinder sidevalve engine |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,810 mm (111 in) |
| Length | 4,060 mm (160 in) - 4,375 mm (172.2 in) |
| Width | 1926–1929: 1,680 mm (66 in) 1929–1933: 1,710 mm (67 in) |
| Height | 1,800 mm (71 in) |
The Mercedes-Benz W02 was a midsize six-cylinder two-litre-engined automobile introduced by Daimler-Benz at the Berlin Motor Show in October 1926. It was developed in some haste under the manufacturer's Technical Director, Ferdinand Porsche in parallel with the smaller Mercedes-Benz W 01 (which never progressed beyond the prototype stage) and the larger three-litre-engined Mercedes-Benz W03 following the creation of Daimler-Benz, formally in July 1926, from the fusion of the Daimler and Benz & Cie auto-businesses.
The new company's models for 1926 were unencumbered by an excess of technical sophistication, but came from a company with a long-standing reputation for quality: serious teething problems afflicting the early cars were the focus of conflict between Daimler-Benz Chairman, Wilhelm Kissel and the Technical Director responsible for the new models: Porsche's employment contract was not renewed beyond 1928, which led to acrimonious litigation.[1]
The manufacturer applied the widely followed German naming conventions of the time. On the Mercedes-Benz 8/38 PS the "8" defined the car's tax horsepower, used by the authorities to determine the level of annual car tax to be imposed on car owners. The "38" defined the manufacturer's claims regarding car's actual power output as defined in Horsepower#Metric horsepower (PS, cv, hk, pk, ks, ch). In Germany tax horsepower, which had been defined by statute since 1906, was based on the dimensions of the cylinders in the engine.
Unlike the systems used elsewhere in Europe, the German tax horsepower calculation took account both of the cylinder bore and of the cylinder stroke, and there was therefore a direct linear relationship between engine size and tax horsepower.
The model was effectively relaunched in 1929, and although there were not many changes on paper, the car was now more modern and cultivated, thanks to the attentions of Hans Nibel, who from January 1929, newly appointed as Technical Director, held sole responsibility for model development.[2] The relaunch was accompanied by a new name, and the car was now sold as the Mercedes-Benz Typ Stuttgart 200.
In retrospect the car is sometimes referred to by its company works number, as the Mercedes-Benz W02, which minimises the risk of confusion with other Mercedes-Benz models with names similar to "Mercedes-Benz Typ 200".
Mercedes-Benz Typ 8/38 PS (1926–1928)
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The car was offered in bare chassis form for customers wishing to purchase a car body from an independent coach builder. Standard bodies from the manufacturer started with a Torpedo-bodied "Tourenwagen" and included 2 or 4-door "Limousine" (sedan/saloon) bodies. There was also a choice from (initially) two different Mercedes-Benz cabriolet bodies.[3]
The side-valve six-cylinder 1,988 cc engine delivered a maximum output of 38 PS (28 kW; 37 hp) at 3,400 rpm, which translated into a top speed of 75 km/h (47 mph). Power was transmitted via a three-speed manual transmission to the rear wheels, which were fixed to a rigid axle suspended from semi-elliptic leaf springs. The braking applied to all four wheels, mechanically controlled using rod linkages.[4]
From 1927 a small delivery van version branded as the Mercedes-Benz Lieferwagen Typ L 3/4 was offered, intended either as a load carrier or, with ten seats, as a small bus.
During its early years the manufacturer pursued an inappropriate pricing strategy. Initially the prices were set much too high, and when they were reduced by between 500 and 1,000 Marks, which fed a rumour that the model was about to be replaced and existing cars were being priced as "run-out" models. This was part of the backdrop to the boardroom conflicts that led to the departure of Technical Director Porsche at the end of 1928.
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