Lower, faster and far more nimble than the big trucks, the Blue Wonder could navigate under any bridge or within any narrow city streets — areas typically off-limits for a heavy heauler.
Powered by a race-ready engine from the 300SL and plopped into Mercedes sedan chassis, the ‘Blue Wonder’ was billed as the fastest transporter in the world. A top speed of 105-mph with a W196 R racecar on the back would certainly be a daunting drive!
But despite the silly appearance of the long-overhang design, the engine here is actually mid-mounted behind the cab. Steering is then controlled by an extended and multi-segment rack (or worm gear, actually). This sends steering inputs from the wheel down toward the front of the cab, then under the driver’s seat to the front axle.
A favorite cabin detail?
The thin wooden stick along-side the driver’s right hip. This appears to be a rudimentary cruise control device — for pegging the throttle to the floor on the autobahn!?
After Mercedes withdrew from racing in in 1956, the Blue Wonder was less of a rock star. It spent the last ten years of its life in the USA as a service vehicle for Mercedes-Benz corporate, before being crushed shortsightedly in 1967.
Mercedes recently created a perfect replica of the original using original photos and period engineering tools. No official blue-prints or designs appear to be around — as this Blue Wonder was a real ‘back-of-the-shop’ special made largely by hand by the race team.
This transporter is the fourth shown here: the first around 1920 is a de-bodied Mercedes with custom wooden ruts on which to drive a race-car up atop the frame. This appears to have required partial dis-assembly of the racecars, depending on their length.
The second around 1930 shows a real truck frame, with a flat bed in back to place the cars. They would be wrapped in canvas for high-speed travel, but the flaps could all be brought down and the cars displayed for city-center travels.
The third is another blue beast, but far more typical of a heavy hauler than the light, low and ultra-fast Blue Wonder of 1954.
1954 Mercedes-Benz ‘Blue Wonder’ Race Transporter
Tom Burkart is the founder and managing editor of Car-Revs-Daily.com, an innovative and rapidly-expanding automotive news magazine.
He holds a Journalism JBA degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tom currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina with his two amazing dogs, Drake and Tank.
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