World-renowned German auto racer Hans Stuck's pet project was to take the world land speed record and he convinced Mercedes-Benz to build a special racing car for the attempt.

[verification needed] The same Autobahn course had already been proven ideal for record-breaking in smaller capacity classes, Britain's Goldie Gardner having exceeded 200 mph (322 km/h) there in a 1,500 cc MG.

The engine ran on a special mixture of methyl alcohol (63%), benzene (16%), ethanol (12%), acetone (4.4%), nitrobenzene (2.2%), avgas (2%), and ether (0.4%) with MW (methanol-water) injection for charge cooling and as an anti-detonant.

Aerodynamically, the T80 incorporated a Porsche-designed enclosed cockpit, low sloping bonnet, rounded wings, and elongated tail booms.

The heavily streamlined twin-tailed body (forming the fairings for each pair of tandem rear wheels) achieved a drag coefficient of 0.18, an astonishingly low figure for any vehicle.