SLIDESHOW
Germany’s most unusual car designs
Germany is not always associated with straying from the beaten track design-wise, but in fact designers from the country’s car makers have throughout the years dared to divert from the norm and given us some outlandish car designs. So here’s our pick of Germany’s most unusual car designs, from beautifully eccentric shapes to squirrelly design features.
MATTHEW MACCONNELL
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL 1954
By the early 1950s, Mercedes had endured a torrid couple of decades and felt it needed to make a statement to the world that it was truly back in business. And so the world got Friedrich Geiger’s beautifully unusual 300 SL gullwing. Importer Max Hoffman promised 1000 sales in America alone, and the car was unveiled at the New York motor show in 1954, where its doors caused a sensation. The car had a tubular steel chassis but many aluminium components were also used, which helped keep the overall weight to just 1500kg. Combined with a slinky body and a 240bhp Mercedes ‘M198’ 3.0-litre fuelinjected straight six, it was good for 146mph, making it the world’s fastest production car – and among the most expensive. Still, this last factor at least ensured a glamorous owner base, which included Sophia Loren, the Aga Khan and Tony Curtis.