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'37 Avus Auto Union streamliner


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#1 Tmeranda

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 02:29

I wonder what the "black flashes" on front and rear wheel arches of the Auto Union cars were? Pretty sure it wasn't just for show. Anyone have any input?

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#2 Rob G

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 06:26

They allowed the driver to monitor tire wear.

#3 Tim Murray

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 06:56

They were indeed used to monitor tyre wear. However, the holes over the rear wheels were too far back for the driver to be able to see them whilst on the move, so presumably the monitoring was done when the car was stationary in the pits.

#4 Doug Nye

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 19:18

They were indeed used to monitor tyre wear. However, the holes over the rear wheels were too far back for the driver to be able to see them whilst on the move, so presumably the monitoring was done when the car was stationary in the pits.


Inside the cockpit, on the bulkhead forming the rear wheel housings, were two small rectangular perspex windows - one each side - through which the driver could check whether the breaker strip was yet showing on the tyre treads. I am not sure what Tmeranda means by 'black flashes' on the external body panelling, unless they were the clearance apertures cut there to prevent the tyres fouling the closely-tailored panelling as the car settled under G load around the North Wall banking, and to help cooling airflow across the treads.

DCN

#5 Tim Murray

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Posted 05 December 2012 - 22:04

I've seen photos of the perspex cockpit windows on the Mercedes, but I'd have thought that in the Auto Union the driver was too far forward for the rear tyres to be visible through any such cockpit windows. The 'flashes' can be clearly seen in these photos:

http://www.flickr.co...in/photostream/

http://images.hemmin...-bank_small.jpg

and looking at all the images here:

https://www.google.c...c.1.3vYEI0RQSeQ

the model-makers have chosen to render the 'flashes' in red - can this be confirmed, or is this just artistic licence?

The photos in Chris Nixon's Auto Union Album clearly show apertures in the front 'flashes'. I'm not sure if there were any apertures in the rear 'flashes', but there were holes in the bodywork a bit aft of the flashes. Nixon states that these were there 'so that Bernd could keep an eye on his tyres' but as I've said, I don't think it would have been possible for the driver to monitor the rear tyres whilst on the move.

Edited by Tim Murray, 05 December 2012 - 22:06.


#6 jj2728

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Posted 06 December 2012 - 00:13

the model-makers have chosen to render the 'flashes' in red - can this be confirmed, or is this just artistic licence?


I just picked up a 1/43 MINICHAMPS version of the car and the flashes, like the numbers are red. Makes sense that they might have been in order to colour coordinate with the numbers. Would be interesting to know for sure.

#7 HFJ Drifter

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Posted 06 December 2012 - 08:17

I've seen the internal viewing holes in the Mercedes W125 Streamliner but the driver is sat to far forward with a fuel tank behind him to be able to see the rear wheels through the any viewing holes I'd have thought.
There are some photos of the Auto Union Streamliner on our Facebook page, including the framework with no body skin.
http://www.facebook....1...8305&type=1

Stuart Roach

#8 kayemod

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Posted 06 December 2012 - 11:13

I've seen the internal viewing holes in the Mercedes W125 Streamliner but the driver is sat to far forward with a fuel tank behind him to be able to see the rear wheels through the any viewing holes I'd have thought.
There are some photos of the Auto Union Streamliner on our Facebook page, including the framework with no body skin.
http://www.facebook....1...8305&type=1

Stuart Roach


Without standing up in the cockpit, I doubt if the driver would have been able to see anything through the front holes either.


#9 Doug Nye

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Posted 06 December 2012 - 19:19

Doh - what I offered above was, of course, describing the Mercedes streamliners used at AVUS, not the AUs at all. Quite why I should have read 'Auto Union' and construed that as 'Mercedes-Benz' I cannot imagine. Sorry pardon.

Worrying...

DCN