1952 Mercedes W194
Automotive Art
Into The Mind Of The Designer - by Bill Pack
It is easy to learn lots of facts and information about any automotive designer. We learn what great shops they worked for, what model of cars they designed and the innovations they have brought to the industry. We know about them, but we do not know them. With my imagery I attempted to get into the soul and spirit of the designer. By concentrating on specific parts of the car and using my lighting technique, I attempt to highlight the emotional lines of the designer.
1952 Mercedes W194 “300 SL” - Designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut
A Moveable Feast - I have had the rare privilege of being commissioned by the Phoenix Art Museum to travel the United States and create my Automotive Art Imagery for the exhibition, “Legends of Speed”. This exhibition ran through March 15, 2020 featuring 22 iconic race cars. It stands the years 1911 through 1978.
Each car has been driven in significant races by iconic drivers. From Sir Sterling Moss, Dan Gurney to Mario Andretti, racing from Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500 to the Italian Gran Prix and many more. The history is rich and storied.
My part of the story was a twelve thousand mile Gran Turismo that took me to all four corners of the Unites States into some of the most coveted and significant private collections in the world.
One of these destinations was a western state where I spent the day with Rudolf Uhlenhaut’s creation, the 1952 Mercedes W194 “300 SL”.
Rudi was born on July 15, 1906 to Max and Hilda in the northern London suburb of Muswell Hill. Max was a German national, who during his tenure as head of the London branch of the Deutsche Bank met an English girl Hilda Brice, and the two were married in 1904.
Rudi had spent much of his childhood traveling between the two countries and by the age of 8 spoke both English and German fluently and imbued with what was to be a lifelong affinity with the country of his birth.
This duality created complications for Rudi, first in 1914 at the break out of WW I his family made a hasty move to Brussels and again in 1939. For Rudi there were no right answers, no mater what he did the other side always ended up being suspicious of him.
Many, in times of conflict turn inward and their expressions emerge through work or creative outlets. It is known that he was multilingual, multicultural, extremely well educated, urbane and modest, a quiet family man who loved to sail and ski.
He did not call attention to himself and was referred to as a gentleman, yet he earned the title as “the driving engineer” by his peers and drivers.
One example was when Juan Manuel Fangio, while at the 1955 Nürburgring Grand Prix mentioned that his car was not set up properly. Rudi, in a shirt and tie jumped in the car and turned in a lap 3 seconds faster than Fangio. His only comment was “He should practice a little more”.
He may have been quiet and understated, but his ideas, engineering and designs were thunderously evident.
In this image discover the line of the man who became known as the creator of the Silver Arrows and “The Father of the Mercedes 300 SL”.