The Silver Arrow

At the Vienna Museum of Technology I saw a Mercedes W196. The W196 was a race car that was used in the early 1950s and was driven by Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss. During this time it was extremely successful and won multiple championships. Along with the drivers, what made it successful was how fuel efficient and reliable the car was compared to its competitors.  The piece I found most interesting was that the W196 displayed was the chassis configuration used specifically on high speed circuits such as Spa, Hockenheim, and Monza. The difference between this chassis and the standard chassis was that this one had wheel covers and flowing bodywork making it more aerodynamic. This meant it had less drag down the long straights of the high speed circuits.