The town of Monte Carlo was recently reinstated as a racing circuit on May 22nd for the first time since 1952, and the meeting was given the title of the European Grand Prix. More important, however, was the fact that the Grand Prix of Monaco was the second round in the World Championship, and the first in Europe for 1955.
The anticipation of this first Grande Epreuve has made itself felt strongly throughout Europe for some weeks, and the entry proved to be one of the finest seen for many a year. It was the first 1955 appearance in Europe of the W196 Mercédès-Benz cars and in view of the fact that the Monaco circuit is a tortuous one the Stuttgart firm built two special cars for the race.
These were shorter in the wheelbase than any previous models, and as a result there was no room for the inboard brakes at the front, so these were mounted normally, on the wheel hubs. At the same time this saved a great deal of weight, with the lack of drive shafts and universals; at the rear the brakes remained in the normal position.
