Has anyone seen this months EVO magazine? the anti Grassroots living magazine at $11 an issue here!!
They've got an article on the restoration of a 1994 Mercedes C class DTM car. Stunning level of technology for the day, they call it the most technically advanced race car ever built. A brief look at the specs shows.
- ABS
- Traction control
- Active yaw control
- Active suspension (tested but never raced due to weight
- 2.5l naturally aspirated V6 430hp @ 11,500rpm
- 225lb/ft @ 9,000rpm
- 1029kg (2275 lb's) - 5.3 lb's/hp
- Engines could be swapped in a 15 mins break between races while also doing other prep work, that's not like the mythical NASCAR engine swaps during the race as this is front/mid location buried in a carbon fiber bulkhead under the front screen- dry break hydraulic fittings and preheated engines for engine changes
- Carbon fiber driveshaft (this was 94 remember) that vibrated if you got the rev's below 5,000rpm
- 6 speed transaxle with ignition cut for flat shifting with it's own hydraulic system
- Water cooled brakes
- Active anti roll bars that would change stiffness between corners and straights
- Active aero that would close cooling doors in the front and create massive down force due to drag for braking into corners
- Active weight distribution was also tried (a weight moved forward or backwards for braking or accelerating) but was not raced.
Just amazing for the time, the costs were out of control so the technology got reigned in.
People often ask about the benefit of racing, well Mercedes wanted to draw in a younger group of buyers, this did it bringing the average down from 55 to 45 within a decade.
