Motor Racing
AMG, now the sports tuning subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz, but then a small local tuning company founded by former Mercedes engineers, produced special versions of the 6.3 to compete in racing events, usually with the engine enlarged to 6.8 liters or more. The car had an impressive, but short-lived racing career, due to the lack of suitable tires, or rule changes preventing the use of them.
AMG's so-called "Red pig" finished 2nd in the 24 Hours of Spa in 1971. This heavy vehicle with 6834 cc and 420 hp (313 kW) was fast, but frequent refuelling was necessary, and tire wear was also high. The car was sold to French company Matra, they used it for tests of jet fighter landing gear. Five were made, three racers and two test cars. Last original works-built Waxenberger 69 "red pig" is in Vehoniemi Automotive Museum, Finland.
Read more about this topic: Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3
Famous quotes containing the words motor and/or racing:
“The motor idles.
Over the immense upland
the pulse of their blossoming
thunders through us.”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“Upscale people are fixated with food simply because they are now able to eat so much of it without getting fat, and the reason they don’t get fat is that they maintain a profligate level of calorie expenditure. The very same people whose evenings begin with melted goat’s cheese ... get up at dawn to run, break for a mid-morning aerobics class, and watch the evening news while racing on a stationary bicycle.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)