This is no racecar: It’s a freakin’ farm tractor “mit ein German akksent” that goes 160 miles-per-damn-hour! It can be improved with upgrades, but in stock trim it’s definately one of those cars that wants to die (in order to kill the driver).
And those front wheels… is this an automobile, or a road grader?
I’ll have the AutoUnion Type D, thank you sah.
Edit: to each their own, if you happen to enjoy this maniacal vehicle, all the power to ya \m/
I love it for the exact reason you seem to hate it: it’s an old car with a suspension geometry that is so wrong, it’s almost right. It requires an incredible amount of finesse to drive it fast; you really need to control the throttle and the rear end of the car with surgical precision, and braking is so different even from the other contemporary cars, you’ll likely spend your first laps in the car driving a lot in reverse. Nerves of steel are a prerequisite here, not a bonus. And as slow as it may be, getting a >8:10 laptime at the Nordschleife in the stock W154 feels so good.
Still, it’s no 8CTF (I may be a bit biased, tho, as I am definitely a sucker for vintage Maserati cars!). I can’t see myself driving it for more than two or three laps of the 'ring in a row - to the focus the car demands for longer I’d have to get my brain on liquid cooling. In comparison, 8CTF may lack in sheer power, but it makes up for it in drivability.
Clarification: I don’t HATE the W154; I hate DRIVING it. It’s a beautiful car to look at (except for that silly positive camber), and sounds incredible at high RPM. If I actually owned one, I’d park it somewhere pretty (and bolt the front wheels on straight).
Respect where it’s due. But, if I’m gonna drive an antique racecar, it would be my last choice.