Eugen Böhringer Explained

Eugen Böhringer
Nationality: German
Birth Date:22 January 1922
Birth Place:Rotenberg, Weimar Republic
Death Place:Stuttgart, Germany
Retired:1965
Last Series:European Rally Championship
Teams:Mercedes-Benz
Best Finish:1st
Year:1962
Titles:European Rally Championship[1] [2]
Title Years:1962

Eugen Böhringer (22January192219June2013) was a German racing driver and hotelier who spent the majority of his racing career on the Mercedes-Benz works team.[3] A specialist in grueling long-distance events, his crowning achievement was victory in the 1962 European Rally Championship.

Early life

Eugen Böhringer was born on 22 January 1922 in Rotenberg, Stuttgart to Gottfried and Emma Böhringer. By 1925 the family owned a Mercedes-Knight 16/45 PS Tourenwagen, and Emma Böhringer was one of the first women in the Stuttgart area to have a driver's license. In 1928, his father started a bus service between Rotenberg and Untertürkheim for commuting employees of the Mercedes-Benz plant located there. Before becoming a driver, Eugen worked as a chef at the family's hotel and restaurant. His road to fame began with him entering a Mercedes-Benz W105 in local and regional competitions for a wager with friends.

Racing career

Early successes brought a promotion to the Mercedes-Benz works team for 1960, and a second-place finish at Rallye Monte-Carlo behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz 220 SE Tourenwagen. The "fintail" saloons became his trademark, as he developed a reputation for nimble driving in rallies which often exceeded 5,000 kilometers.

Race results

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

Notes and References

  1. Book: Brian Long. Mercedes-Benz 'Fintail' Models: The W110, W111 and W112 Series. 31 January 2014. The Crowood Press UK. 978-1847976031. 3 April 2015.
  2. Web site: Eugen Böhringer - eWRC-results.com . eWRC-results . 3 April 2022.
  3. Former European rally champion Eugen Böhringer has died, at the age of 91. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040453/http://media.daimler.com/dcmedia/0-921-614318-1-1609367-1-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0.html. 4 March 2016. 1 April 2015. 21 June 2013. Mercedes-Benz. Daimler AG.