Mercedes-Benz W 17

Mercedes Benz
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W 17
Presentation year:	1931-1932
Vehicle fair:
Class :	Small car
Body shape :	limousine
Engine:	Otto engine : 1.2 liters (18.3 kW)
Wheelbase:	2500 mm
Production model:	none

The Mercedes-Benz W 17 , also Mercedes-Benz 120 , is a rear-engined concept vehicle that Daimler-Benz AG produced in 1931 and 1932.

Inspired by the modern streamlined shape, it was decided in the early 1930s to no longer install engines in the front of the vehicle, but in the rear. Rounded vehicle fronts limit the installation space above the front axle. The voluminous rear shapes, however, left a lot of space above and behind the rear axle. In addition, the cardan shaft can be omitted when installing the motor on the drive axle . Corresponding developments arose at Tatra under the direction of Hans Ledwinka .

In 1930, Daimler-Benz AG entrusted Hans Nibel with the development of a small rear-engined car. In 1931 the W 17 or Type 120, a four-seater sedan with two rear-hinged doors, vertical front and rear windows and a four-cylinder boxer engine in the rear, which generated 25 hp (18.4 kW) from 1200 cm³. There were also attempts with transversely installed inline four-cylinder engines.

There was no series production and none of the test vehicles is still preserved today. In addition to photos, the engine of one of the cars that can be viewed in the Mercedes-Benz world still exists today .

literature

• Werner Oswald : Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars 1886–1986 . Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1987. ISBN 3-613-01133-6 . Pp. 310-312.