Lovely detailed model of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL driven by John Fitch and Eugen Geiger to 3rd place (later disqualified) if the 1952 Carrera Panamerica.
Silver paint with white stripes on the front wings, race number 6, sponsor decals, race plaques, chrome headlight rings and front grille trim, detailed interior, chrome wheels with treaded rubber tyres.
In 1952 the organizers of Carrera Panamericana divided what had been a single class into Sports Car and Stock Car entries so heavy American sedans did not have to compete directly with nimble European sports cars. The major automobile manufacturers had taken notice of the race and Mercedes-Benz sent a highly organized team of drivers, mechanics, and new Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (W194)[6] that already had won major races, especially Le Mans, but these cars were carbureted and had less power than the later fuel-injected roadgoing 300 SL (W198). Karl Kling/Hans Klenk and Hermann Lang finished first and second, and a 1-2-3 finish may have been the final result had American John Fitch not been disqualified for permitting a mechanic to touch his car on the second to last day.
Klenk used pre-prepared 'pacenotes' to identify and communicate upcoming road bends in rapid shorthand to Kling. This preparation was also used by Mercedes for the 1955 Mille Miglia which was won by Moss/Jenkinson while Fangio and Kling drove solo, and Hans Herrmann with a mechanic. This system proved so effective that it is used in all motor sports involving a navigator today, such as rallying. The highly organized Lincoln teams also used a similar system. American Chuck Stevenson won the touring car class in a Lincoln Capri, his first of two consecutive victories in the event.
The Mercedes-Benz W194 of Kling and Hans Klenk won despite the car being hit by a vulture in the windscreen. During a long right-hand bend in the opening stage taken at almost 200 km/h (120 mph), Kling failed to spot vultures sitting by the side of the road. As the birds scattered at the roar of the virtually unsilenced 300 SL, one impacted through the windscreen on the passenger side, briefly knocking co-driver and navigator Klenk unconscious. Despite bleeding badly from facial injuries caused by the shattered windscreen, Klenk ordered Kling to maintain speed, and held on until a tire change almost 70 km (43 mi) later to clean himself and the car up. For extra protection, eight vertical steel bars were bolted over the new windscreen. Kling and Klenk also discussed the species and size of the dead bird, agreeing that had had a minimum 115-centimetre (45 in) wingspan and weighed as much as five fattened geese.
'Only' one person was killed in this event, Santos Letona of Puebla, Mexico, who died in a crash near the town of Texmelucan on the third stage between there and Mexico City.
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