Think back to the cars of the 30’s. You think Tatra’s, Cords, Duesenberg and maybe open-wheeled racers. The speed wars were really beginning to take hold, cars were beginning to exceed 100mph and introduce many of today’s advancements.
Mercedes Benz, having created the world’s first motor car a few decades earlier, was at the forefront. The marque’s Silver Arrow race cars dominated Grand Prix racing in Europe, winning races and setting speed records.
The company’s success spread, interestingly, beyond race cars and into the vehicles which carried them. Mercedes Benz had been making trucks well back into the 20’s, but it was in the 30’s that they hit their stride with the introduction of diesel powerplants.
With 60 horsepower from it’s 5-liter, 4 cylinder diesel, the 6.5 ton Mercedes-Benz LO managed to be one of the fastest trucks of the period, a fitting transport for some of the world’s winningest cars.
This CMC version obsessively recreated the LO in scale, with such intricate details as functioning hood latches, rope drawstring for the bed top, leaf spring suspension along with a real metal chassis and real metal screws throughout.
From the moment you receive this CMC, you know it’s going to be special. The box itself is a kind of leather, proudly displaying the CMC logo.
The truck, released from the styrofoam container, is almost intimidating to behold. So much could break, you think. Though the CMC is not only detailed, it’s a sturdy as a truck should be.
Almost everything apart from the actual motor functions, including the doors, tailgate and bed sides, 3-piece hood and tool boxes. For the purpose of playing around with each, CMC helpfully includes a pair of tweezers.
Taken together with the history of the historical Mercedes Benz racing efforts and the quality of the model itself, the CMC LO 2750 is about as impressive a tribute to the Renntransporter as could be reasonably made. We’re happy to induct the LO as our Model Truck of the Year.Â