Mercedes-Benz Introduced The First Mid-Engined Racecar 100 Years Ago

You'd assume that race cars were always built with a mid-engine layout, given they provide the best balance for track driving. In fact, Mercedes-Benz pioneered the idea 100 years ago with the Benz RH two-liter "teardrop," the first mid-engine race car in automotive history.

The car made its racing debut on September 9, 1923, at the European Grand Prix in Monza, where Benz & Cie. brought three entries. Piloting the cars were Ferdinando Minoia (starting number 1), who finished in fourth, Franz Horner (starting number 7), who finished in fifth, and Willy Walb (starting number 13), who failed to finish.

Introducing a mid-engine racecar may not have brought home a victory, but at least designer Max Wagner received an honorary award for the "teardrop" racing car, a design that was deemed futuristic at the time.

The development of the RH two-liter race car started in 1922 when Dr. Hans Nibel, head of development at Benz & Cie., and Wagner were impressed by Edmund Rumpler's "teardrop" car. Benz then acquired a license agreement to receive an open "teardrop" car, including associated drawing sets.

The development saw the first mid-engine race car and the first ever use of an independent rear suspension with a double-jointed swing axle in racing.

Power was drawn from a 90-horsepower 2.0-liter inline-six engine developed by Dr. Arthur Berger. It was matched with two Zenith horizontal carburetors and a crankshaft with seven roller bearings. Weight-reducing holes were also integrated into the frame, pedals, and gearshift levers.

Benz didn't have the funds to further enhance and develop the race car with a more powerful supercharged engine. Instead, the company developed a sports car with no special designation, a different body, two headlamps, and splash guards, and the tank was moved from the front to the rear.

The end of the "teardrop" race cars happened after the merger of Benz & Cie. and Daimler-Motorsen-Gesellschaft in 1926. Ferdinand Porsche, the development director, opted not to continue the program. But he pursued similar concepts with sixteen-cylinder engines, rewarding the Silver Arrows brand with European Championship titles in 1935, 1937, and 1938.

Today, the principle of mid-engine racing cars is adopted across all motorsports, the pinnacle of which is Formula 1. The latest mid-engine masterpiece from the German automaker is the Mercedes-AMG One, the closest thing you'll find to an F1 car for the road.