The high-tech 1994 Mercedes-Benz C-Class DTM ...
This weekend Jamie Green won the final DTM race of the season, which inspired us to look back at a golden era of the German touring car championship; the mid-1990s. Between 1993 and 1996, the series used the so-called 'FIA Class 1' regulations, which gave manufacturers considerable freedom in both aerodynamics and electronics. For the 1994 season, Mercedes-Benz introduced the C-Class DTM, which was based on the recently introduced 'W202' road car. It was powered by a very compact yet powerful V6 and incorporated many of the electronic tricks that had been outlawed that year in Formula 1 like ABS and traction control. Fielding six cars for a squad of very quick drivers, the C-Class took on defending champions Alfa Romeo with great verve. Even though the Italians had a one year head-start with their 155 V6 TI DTM, Mercedes-Benz driver Klaus Ludwig managed to claim the title. Bernd Schneider repeated that feat in the following year but by 1996, Opel had caught on. It would be the final DTM season until the arrival of the current formula in 2000.
Our feature car was raced in the 1994 season by Ellen Lohr, who was the team-mate of champion Klaus Ludwig. In recent years, the highly complicated machine was meticulously restored by Dawn Treader Performance. We captured the striking machine at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it was one of the fastest cars up the hill.
Enjoy the links:
1994 Mercedes-Benz C-Class DTM - Images, Specifications and Information
If you should see a man walking down a crowded street talking aloud to himself, don't run in the opposite direction, but run towards him, because he's a poet. You have nothing to fear from the poet - but the truth.
(Ted Joans)
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