Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website Mercedes 28/95 hp Sport: Racing success with four-wheel brakes at the Targa Florio 1921
may 27, 2021 - Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport

Mercedes 28/95 hp Sport: Racing success with four-wheel brakes at the Targa Florio 1921

  • The innovative technology improved braking accuracy and driving safety
  • One hundred years ago: Class victory, fastest lap and 2nd place overall for Max Sailer
  • Further Mercedes-Benz successes at the #targaflorio in 1922, 1924 and 1955
  • Overview: Mercedes-Benz milestones in car brake technology over 100 years

Stuttgart. What a strain this race was 100 years ago. On 29 May 1921, #racing driver Max Sailer took just under seven and a half hours under the piercing Sicilian sun to reach the finishing line of the #targaflorio. This resulted in second place overall, a class win in the touring cars over 5 litres and the fastest lap time. Over no less than 432 kilometres, Sailer drove the Mercedes 28/95 hp Sport in a thrilling race against strong competition, mainly from Italian drivers. The race covered four laps of the 108-kilometre circuit in the north of this Italian island on unpaved mountain roads with around 1,500 bends and a change in altitude of 800 metres.

Under these extreme conditions, Sailer was able to rely on new technology: the Mercedes 28/95 hp Sport was the first vehicle from Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) to be equipped with four-wheel brakes. This system generated a noticeable improvement in braking power and, as a result, precision and driving safety. The brakes used were drum brakes. These were clearly visible behind the wire-spoked wheels.

Victory within reach

The race was accompanied by dust and high temperatures but also the risk of punctures due to the numerous hoof nails lying on the road. And it was this risk that cost Sailer overall victory in the twelfth run of the legendary road race organised by Italian industrialist Vincenzo Florio: “Sailer had to change tyres nine times, while the absolute winner of the Targa, who arrived just two minutes ahead of him in a special Fiat #racing car, did not have a single flat tyre,” summed up Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in a sales bulletin to the dealer network on 6 June 1921. The fact that this #racing driver from Stuttgart concluded the #targaflorio in 7 hours, 27 minutes and 16.2 seconds at an average speed of 57.9 km/h despite these nine punctures was a masterly performance. Well-deserved, then, was the award of a trophy donated by Vincenzo Florio and presented by the Sicilian Automobile Club for the “first in the series class”, as it was phrased in a telegram sent directly after the race to DMG headquarters. This “coppa” (Italian for “trophy”) donated by Mr Florio is not to be confused with the race for the “Coppa Florio”, which was also sponsored by him. That race was held in September 1921 as part of the Grand Prix in Brescia.

The success of the Mercedes 28/95 hp Sport equipped with four-wheel brakes was an example of how #racing paves the way for a new vehicle technology: from June 1921, the 28/95 hp Sport was included in the range of standard models available. The successes at the #targaflorio and in other races were powerful marketing factors for the model. For example, the Viennese car dealer Mercedes Auto-Palast used the slogan “Seven races – seven victories!” in a full-page advertisement in the Austrian “Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung” of 6 November 1921, and announced: “Six-cylinder model 28/95 hp, 1921, has arrived!”

From 1923, DMG also equipped the production version of its sporty top model, the 28/95 hp, with this “all-wheel brake system”. Over time, the four-wheel brake system became the standard in #automotive engineering worldwide. The difference between that and the previously used brake that only acted on the rear axle, was striking: the cars equipped with four-wheel brakes decelerated so effectively that, in the mid-1920s, there was discussion in Germany about a corresponding warning sign at the rear to inform other road users in good time. The “Allgemeine Automobil-Zeitung” reported on the issue on 12 September 1925 under the headline “Caution, four-wheel brakes!”.

Further information in the press release to download

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