The Mercedes-Benz T80 was a six-wheeled vehicle built by Mercedes-Benz, developed and designed by Ferdinand Porsche in the late 1930s. It was intended to break the world land speed record, but never made the attempt, due to the project having …

More than eight metres long, powered by a Daimler-Benz aircraft engine developing up to 2,574 kW (3,500 PS) and designed for a speed of up to 650 km/h: the Mercedes‑Benz T 80 of 1939 was the automotive dream of the absolute world land speed record. The vision of breaking the record never became a reality.

Oct 28, 2024 · Equipped with the powerful aircraft engine and Dr. Porsche’s imaginative design genius, the Porsche-Stuck collaboration was expected to easily top British contender Malcolm Campbell’s then-current record of 301.129 mph. Simple physics decrees that the speed of any object passing through the air is limited by aerodynamic drag.

The car had a longer wheelbase than the C 111-II, a narrower track, concealed wheels, a very low front end with recessed, powerful headlamps and a very long and tapering rear end with a central fin that was to enhance the car’s straight-line stability under side wind conditions.

The T80 was over 8 meters long (27 ft), weighed over 2.7 metric tons (three short ton), and needed 3000 hp (2200 kW) together with the aerodynamics of specialist Josef Mikcl to attain the projected speed of 750 km/h (465 mph).

By 1939, the T80 was fully completed at a cost of RM 600,000. It was powered by a massive 44.5 liter Daimler-Benz DB 603 inverted V12, a derivative of the famous DB-601 aircraft engine which powered the lethal Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter in production at the time.

With its higher compression ratio, more performance-oriented camshaft timing, modified supercharging and explosive high-performance fuel, the V12 delivered a peak power of up to 2770 hp/2037 kW. In parallel to these tuned versions of the DB 601, Daimler-Benz had been working on a more powerful engine with the same technical basis since autumn 1936.

Oct 1, 2012 · Powered by a 3,000 hp (2,240 kW) DB 603 aircraft engine, the Mercedes-Benz T80 was built to capture the world land speed record for Germany. Because of WWII, the car was never finished.

Jul 13, 2018 · More power was made available from the engine, and when the T80 was nearly finished in 1939, the target speed for its record run was 373 mph (600 km/h) after 3.7 mi (6 km) of acceleration. The T80 cost 600,000 Reichsmarks to complete; that is …

Feb 12, 2013 · Mercedes T80. Mercedes-Benz T80 was a vehicle developed and built by Mercedes-Benz, designed by Ferdinand Porsche to break the world speed record on land before the second world war. The technical data. DB 603 V12 de Daimler-Benz; Total weight : 2896 kg (6385 books) Power : 3.000 ch (2.210 kilowatts) @ 3200 t / mn; Engine : 44.5 liters; wheels ...