The COAT - Round One - Mercedes-Benz W196 vs BRM P57

[crmalcolm]

The fourth match in Round One sees the Mercedes-Benz W196 up against the BRM P57. Both of these cars saw significant engineering development, albeit for contrasting reasons:
The W196 saw witness to many firsts, and was a car that could run as open or closed wheel, and be varied dramatically based on driver preference.
The P57, was also referred to as the P48/57 and P578 - which is an indication of how the car had to be constantly modified as a result of regulation changes.

Mercedes-Benz W196 (grandprixhistory.org):
In 1954 [...] Mercedes set up a racing department headed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut while the race team was once again managed by the legendary Alfred Neubauer. The drivers were Juan-Manuel Fangio and the Germans Karl Kling and Hans Hermann. In 1955 the lineup was bolstered when the young British sensation Stirling Moss joined the team.

One of the initial design goals or the new car was to maximize it's drivability by providing as wide a power band as possible. Towards this end the new cars were powered by a normally aspired straight eight fitted with desmodromic valves and fuel injection. Using experience gained from their aero engines and in collaboration with Bosch, Mercedes built the first successful Grand Prix car to have fuel injection.
Using a loophole in the rules, the cars sported an all-enclosing streamlined shell whose low bonnet line was made possible by the engine being canted on its side.
The streamlined bodies caused a sensation and served the team well at fast circuits such as Reims but the debacle at the British Grand Prix led to an open wheel version which was later driven in the remainder of the races that required a more precise placement of the car relative to the circuit's corners!

BRM P57 (ultimatecarpage.com):
Third time lucky? Yes, the P57 designed for the new 1.5 litre regulations finally brought success for BRM.
In 1961, the first year of the 1.5 litre era, BRM had to resort to an underpowered Climax FPF engine but they busy were developing their own engine for the 1962 car. This engine was a brand-new fuel injected V8 which stood out from the rest of the pack because of its characteristic howl. For the first few races the V8 was equipped with 8 seperate vertical exhaust stacks, but they were later replaced because they tended to break off.
Graham Hill scored BRM's second Grand Prix win, again in the Netherlands, exactly three years after Bonnier's first. He went on to win another three Championship rounds. He also won the Driver's World Championship and BRM took the Constructors' crown.

For the 1963 the P57 was extensively modified with the spaceframe chassis being replaced by a monocoque. Hill took victories at the Monaco and US Grands Prix in 1963 and again in 1964 and 1965. The arrival of the new 3 litre regulations in 1966 ended BRM's good years and their cars were only sporadically in contention for victories.

[Gerard C]

No hesitation here, the Merc is second to none. Monoposto, two seater or GullWing all are breathtaking imo.

[S griffin]

The Merc. So dominant it worked well at any circuit. Some things don't change do they?