Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

The story behind that is quite interesting:
http://www.mb190e16v.com/Templates/Mercedes_the%20car%20body.htm

I had to google it to make sense of the pics.

Southern Italy, August 13 - 21, 1983. In the early morning of August 13, 1983, under strict supervision of 102 FIA sport commisioners three Mercedes 190 E 2.3-16's (labeled green, red and white) started out on a 50,000 km high-speed test run, demanding any amount of stamina on the part of cars, drivers and test department staff. According to the regulations the cars for the record runs were just slightly modified compared to the future production cars. The bodywork was lowered by 15 millimeters, the front apron was extended downwards by 20 millimeters, the fan was removed and the power steering was replaced by mechanical steering. The Nardo cars also featured self-leveling suspension on the front axle to keep the ground clearance at a constant level. The gearbox had a longer 5th gear ratio to reach 250 km/h at 6000 rpm. Reverse gear was unnecessary and therefore removed, this would have costed 0,4 km/h top speed. The record track in Nardo is precisely 12.64026 kilometers long, has a diameter of some four kilometers and slightly banked lanes, hereby permitting driving almost without lateral forces even in the speed range over 240 km/h. According to the engineers' calculations, the cars were to reach the 50,000 km target in the morning of the eighth day, provided there were no problems. The pit stops were performed as scheduled and the 18 drivers (six per car) were up to the strain. Lap times were to be three minutes and five seconds to reach the targeted average speed of 240 km/h including pit stops. Due to the cars' low Cw value of 0.30, they were expected to reach somewhat higher top speeds than the production versions. Every two-and-a-half hours, the cars came in for refueling and a change of driver during a 20-second pit stop. The fuel tanks had a capacity of 160 liters instead of the standard 70 liter tank. Fuel consumption during the record run was a slightly over 20l per 100 km's. The heavily strained rear tires had to be replaced every 8,500 kilometers and the front tires every 17,000 kilometers. During these five-minute tire change breaks, the oil and oil filters were also replaced and the valve clearance was checked. In total 243 stops were made. The mechanics changed every 14 hours and had to do a pitstop every 50 minutes. To protect the headlamp lenses against soiling and damage during the daytime, they were covered by plastic caps. The radiator mask was fitted with a quick-change insect screen to prevent clogging of the radiator. After 201 hours, 39 minutes and 43 seconds, two of the cars had clocked up 50,000 kilometers with an average speed of 247 km/h and the 190 2.3-16 achieved three world records and nine international class records. The replacement parts carried on board in compliance with the regulations had not been required - the cars had been running perfectly smoothly despite the extreme strain. The third car was laid up for three hours by a broken distributor rotor arm - an item costing just a few cents, which the pit crew were not allowed to replace but had to repair. For enthusiasts, one of the cars that took part in the record run can still be seen in the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart (Germany).