Mercedes Benz 450 SLC, 1978 South America Rally

The Mercedes Benz 450 SLC added a new chapter in 1978 with a double victory in the 30,000 kilometre South American Rally through ten countries. The regulations did not allow tuned engines, so the four works-supported Mercedes-Benz 450 SLCs had standard 4.5 litre V 8 engines, albeit top-of-the-range engines with 227-234 hp instead of the production version´s 217 hp.

The weighty coupe proved its stability in the course of this punishing race: despite doing a quadruple lateral roll, the Finn Timo Mäkinen came in fourth in the 40-day race which included around 6,000 km of special stages - in a car that was somewhat the worse for wear, but still drivable. The overall winners were Andrew Cowan/Colin Malkin (GB) ahead of Mercedes-drivers Sobislaw Zasada/ Andrzej Zembrzuski (P) - double victory for Mercedes-Benz.

This win encouraged Mercedes-Benz to continue development of 450 SLC rally racing cars. For 1979 they fitted a new 5.0 litre all-aluminum engine into the C107 platform and this car became known as the 450 SLC 5.0. A small handful of homologation specials were made and sold the European market.

Read more at http://www.supercars.net/cars/2032.html#KUhfD6qBXCA0Y8B7.99

For availability and licensing inquiries, please contact:
https://www.globalimageworks.com/contact
Ref: S016

Видео Mercedes Benz 450 SLC, 1978 South America Rally канала King Rose Archives