Tosh and Richard,
here are a few more excerpts on this topic from Harry Niemann's book "Bela Barenyi":
Nallinger [Daimler-Benz Chief Engineer and Board member] referred to the Barenyi patent first on the subject of passive accident safety:
"Apart from the conception rules, our measures for interior safety are laid down as a principle, for Daimler-Benz on the 23rd of January 1951, patented in the Federal Republic of Germany with the Nr. 854.151 This patent is concerned with the following main question: How is the uncontrolled energy created due to motion, obviated in the event of an accident?
Here there is only one answer, transformation of the uncontrolled energy due to motion into deforming the car. Every application for elastic elements, as regularly proposed by amateurs, would be wrong, because elastic elements, simple helical springs for example come to mind, would only store the motion energy and subsequently transmitted further in a different form and direction. Our already mentioned patent concerning the form of the car body works on a principle that we have used for years in all of our model types. The vehicle must be able to deform permanently at the front and rear in order to dissipate the uncontrolled energy released in a crash via the maximum possible path and time, to therefore achieve the minimum possible deceleration values. The actual passenger cell however must be externally as rigid as possible. The complete interior trim component parts found in the passenger cell must also be conceived for permanent deformation in the event of human body impact."
Waqas,
I doubt that Barenyi would have liked the stiffer Nardi wheel. As you probably know your W111 was the first car that incorporated his safety steering wheel (see picture). These were his design principles:
1. The columns comprising the steering shaft must have the correct lengths.
2. The steering column must be split at the correct position (that is not too far down).
3. The connection piece for the two lengths of steering column may only be
an unguided, plastic deformable "coupling", that under normal circumstances must not twist.
4. The plastic deformable "Coupling" should not only be capable of collapsing solely in the axial direction, but in all directions.
5. The construction position for the top part of the steering column must
remain in place during the collision procedure.
6. The complete layout should comprise a minimum of parts.
His sketches are fascinating!
