Mercedes-Benz SSKL & Caracciola Won The Mille Miglia 90 Years Ago In 1931

90 years ago, Mercedes-Benz won the 1931 Mille Miglia with Rudolf Caracciola in the SSKL. Two major milestones were achieved in this year, the first non-Italian to win and the 100 km/h average speed was broken.

The victory was something of a surprise. The SSKL was a large and heavy car, despite many weight saving measures, but still beat everything else. Even with Rudolf Caracciola at the wheel the team were not the favourites to win the event. The Italian competition was strong in the fifth running of the Mille Miglia on the 12 and 13 April 1931.

Against all expectations the Stuttgart entry finished the 1,635 kilometre route from Brescia to Rome and back faster than all the others. So fast they beat the 100 km/h average speed at 101.6 km/h. the conditions on the event were tough and the roads were largely unmade tracks, making this a sensation. The total time was 16 hours, 10 minutes and 10 seconds.

90 years ago, Mercedes-Benz won the 1931 Mille Miglia with Rudolf Caracciola in the SSKL. Two major milestones were achieved in this year, the first non-Italian to win and the 100 km/h average speed was broken.

The victory was something of a surprise. The SSKL was a large and heavy car, despite many weight saving measures, but still beat everything else. Even with Rudolf Caracciola at the wheel the team were not the favourites to win the event. The Italian competition was strong in the fifth running of the Mille Miglia on the 12 and 13 April 1931.

Against all expectations the Stuttgart entry finished the 1,635 kilometre route from Brescia to Rome and back faster than all the others. So fast they beat the 100 km/h average speed at 101.6 km/h. the conditions on the event were tough and the roads were largely unmade tracks, making this a sensation. The total time was 16 hours, 10 minutes and 10 seconds.

The original Mille Miglia was held from 1927 and ran until 1957. Since 1977 it’s been a regularity drive for historic vehicles. Still a tough event, but not the outright race it used to be.

It is one of the world’s most popular events from classic cars. This year the event has been re-scheduled and will run from the 16 to 19 June 2021.

1931 was very different financially. The collapse of the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929 had consequences that were felt world over. In Germany it affected vehicle production which dropped from 39,869 vehicles in 1929 to 88,435 vehicles the following year and then to 64,377 units in 1931. The turnover also fell by about half to RM 68.8 million.

The board of management at Daimler-Benz AG stopped development of the new racing car in 1930 and dismissed driver Caracciola. Even though they won the European hill-climb championship that year. But race director Alfred Neubauer reached an agreement with him that provided for reduced factory support and the provision of an SSKL. In return this meant that Caracciola would work exclusively for Daimler-Benz in races and sporting events during the 1931 sporting year. The 1931 racing programme was more modest than planned but led to eleven victories from eleven starts. The team also defended their title of European hill-climb champion.

The original Mille Miglia was held from 1927 and ran until 1957. Since 1977 it’s been a regularity drive for historic vehicles. Still a tough event, but not the outright race it used to be.

It is one of the world’s most popular events from classic cars. This year the event has been re-scheduled and will run from the 16 to 19 June 2021.

1931 was very different financially. The collapse of the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929 had consequences that were felt world over. In Germany it affected vehicle production which dropped from 39,869 vehicles in 1929 to 88,435 vehicles the following year and then to 64,377 units in 1931. The turnover also fell by about half to RM 68.8 million.

The board of management at Daimler-Benz AG stopped development of the new racing car in 1930 and dismissed driver Caracciola. Even though they won the European hill-climb championship that year. But race director Alfred Neubauer reached an agreement with him that provided for reduced factory support and the provision of an SSKL. In return this meant that Caracciola would work exclusively for Daimler-Benz in races and sporting events during the 1931 sporting year. The 1931 racing programme was more modest than planned but led to eleven victories from eleven starts. The team also defended their title of European hill-climb champion.

The legendary Mille Miglia 90 years ago: Caracciola won in 1931 in a Mercedes-Benz SSKL
The legendary Mille Miglia 90 years ago: Caracciola won in 1931 in a Mercedes-Benz SSKL

Mercedes-Benz SSKL, 1931; Super Sport Kurz Leicht, Super Sports Short Light

Officially the car was still the SSK in 1931. The SSKL designation, Super Sport Kurz Leicht, Super Sports Short Light, came in 1932 when it was the fourth and last of the S model series. Only four of those were built, all exclusively for racing.

The car was a heavily reworked SSK with a programme of weight loss. Numerous drilled holes and a thinner walled frame construction helped reduce weight by 125 kilograms to 1,352 kilograms. The large six-cylinder 7,069 cc engine received attention too with a great deal of work. Also, the addition of the Roots supercharger it produced 221 kW (300 hp) and could reach a top speed of 235 km/h.

This was not an easy task. The car was no longer considered state of the art and not considered to be a competitive product. Thanks to the efforts of development director Dr Hans Nibel the team managed to produce a winning vehicle.

The legendary Mille Miglia 90 years ago: Caracciola won in 1931 in a Mercedes-Benz SSKL
The legendary Mille Miglia 90 years ago: Caracciola won in 1931 in a Mercedes-Benz SSKL
The legendary Mille Miglia 90 years ago: Caracciola won in 1931 in a Mercedes-Benz SSKL

The 1931 Mille Miglia

The 1931 Mille Miglia had 151 teams register for the road race. The route, from Brescia via Parma to Bologna, took the cars over Apennines to Florence and then from Siena to Rome. The return route was via Perugia and Macerata to the Adriatic Sea and via Rimini, Bologna and Verona back to Brescia.

The Italian teams had local knowledge and an advantage in parts supply. The route was paved with spares for the local teams. Mercedes had to economise, and their race was somewhat more of a budget entry. Race director Alfred Neubauer was only able to set up four stores along the route to support the Caracciola/Sebastian team which was a private entry.

Rudolf Caracciola and co-driver Wilhelm Sebastian started at 3:12 pm on the 12 April 1931. The route taking them over narrow mountain passes which meant that it wasn’t possible to use the full performance of the car. Only towards the end of the race where the stages opened up could Caracciola use full throttle. The slim driver seemed to handle the large heavy Mercedes effortlessly. He said about the race: “For sixteen hours I sat at the wheel, for sixteen hours we thundered along the length and breadth of Italy, feeling our way through the night by the beam of the headlights, driving into the blinding light of the spring morning, … for sixteen hours I had no idea what our position was in the enormous field of several hundred cars.”

The legendary Mille Miglia 90 years ago: Caracciola won in 1931 in a Mercedes-Benz SSKL

On the moment of the return to Brescia “At the finishing line, Alfred Neubauer was completely out of his mind and was performing a completely crazy dance. What on earth was going on? At first, I didn’t realise what had happened, not yet, but slowly it dawned on me: I had won the Mille Miglia.” Behind him, 31 Italian-built cars reached the finish before a Graham-Paige car came in in 32nd place.

Rudolf Caracciola, with co-driver Wilhelm Sebastian (starting number 87) traversing the Raticosa Pass in a Mercedes-Benz SSKL (W 06 RS)

Rudolf Caracciola, the Mercedes-Benz works driver was the star of the first Silver Arrow era in the 1930s. Winning the European Grand Prix in 1935, 1937 and 1938. this title back then is comparable to winning a Formula 1 World title today. he also became the European hill-climb champion three times with Mercedes-Benz.

Caracciola was born on the 30 January 1901 in Remagen and dies on the 28 September 1959, aged 58.

The press communicated Caracciola’s success quickly and widely. In the 9/1931 issue, the renowned “Allgemeine Automobil Zeitung” commented on Caracciola’s success: “In newspapers issued by the German Reich, we have read of a success of the German automobile industry. With respect, we feel that such a generalisation is out of place here. It was a success for Mercedes-Benz, which should not be credited to the German motorcar industry as a whole, because, apart from Mercedes-Benz, there is no motorcar brand in the whole of Germany that could take part in such a major international race. […] Think what you will about the races, they still amount to the best possible advertising for the winning brand, which spread all over the world only a few hours after the race.”

Race director Alfred Neubauer and the winner Rudolf Caracciola with co-driver Wilhelm Sebastian
Rudolf Caracciola, his wife Charly Caracciola and race director Alfred Neubauer

Thanks to Mercedes-Benz for the use of the images.

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