Who designed the six-wheeled Mercedes-Benz T80 land speed record car?

Ferdinand Porsche designed the six-wheeled Mercedes-Benz T80 land-speed-record car. Mercedes-Benz built the one-off machine in 1939 for an attempt at the absolute world land speed record.

The T80 grew from racer Hans Stuck’s ambition to set a record on German soil. Porsche developed the vehicle around a mid-mounted, supercharged 44.5-liter Daimler-Benz DB 603 V12, while Josef Mickl worked on its aerodynamics. The car used three axles, with two driven, and its streamlined body was intended to keep it stable at extraordinary speed.

The projected target eventually rose to 750 km/h (466 mph), but the T80 never made a record run. World War II began before the planned January 1940 attempt, leaving the completed car unused. Its aircraft-derived engine was later removed, and the surviving chassis is now displayed at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

A common mix-up is confusing Porsche’s design role with Mercedes-Benz’s manufacture or Hans Stuck’s planned driving role. Porsche was the designer; Stuck was the intended driver.