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No other brand dominated the golden age of classic grand-prix racing in the mid-20th century in the same way as the Silver Arrows from Mercedes-Benz. Juan Manuel Fangio was the driver who best embodied the racing outfit’s strength after the Second World War. The Goodwood Revival 2011, near Chichester/West Sussex, in September will be reliving this heyday as it marks the centenary of Fangio’s birth.
The prestigious British festival, held over three days every autumn (16 to 18 September 2011), recreates an epoch that stretched from the 1940s to the 1960s. It offers an exclusive, atmospheric setting for Mercedes-Benz Classic’s tribute to Juan Manuel Fangio (born 24 June 1911, died 17 July 1995), who would have turned 100 this year.
The highlights of the Revival will include demonstration laps by famous racing drivers in the Mercedes-Benz vehicles with which Fangio wrote motor sport history in the 1954 and 1955 seasons. Besides notching up major success in various sports car races, the Argentine became Formula 1 world champion in both those years.
Mercedes-Benz Classic has put together an illustrious field of drivers and vehicles for the event. Among the drivers taking to the classic track, where races were held between 1948 and 1966, will be Juan Manuel Fangio II. The nephew of the legendary world champion will be driving the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R, a Formula 1 racing car with a streamlined body from 1954.
Sir Stirling Moss and Hans Herrmann, team mates of Fangio during the Silver Arrows’ post-war era, will also be remembering the five-time Formula 1 champion, two times on Mercedes-Benz. At the Revival, Moss will take the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (W 196 S) racing car from 1955. It was in this vehicle that Fangio won the Eifelrennen and the Swedish Grand Prix in 1955 as well as achieving second place in the Mille Miglia (without a co-driver) and in the Tourist Trophy and Targa Florio (both with Karl Kling). Stirling Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia together with co-driver Denis Jenkinson also in a W 196 S, in a minimum time unbeaten until today.
Herrmann will be driving a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R with open wheels. In 1954 and 1955, Fangio raced to nine victories in both versions of the W 196 R (including the Grand Prix of Buenos Aires with a three-litre engine), came second twice and took one third place, enabling him to win the world championship in both years.
The Goodwood Revival is the ideal occasion for Mercedes-Benz Classic to commemorate the charismatic driver Fangio. Charles Gordon-Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara, has been hosting the Goodwood Revival since 1998 – as ‘A time capsule of the golden era of motor racing’. According to British racing legend Sir Stirling Moss: ‘The Revival is an event which is unique in the world.’
The Revival naturally centres on the races, such as the celebrity races featuring well-known racing drivers from various classes of motor sport who will be driving various two- and four-wheeled vehicles. This category is made up of the St Mary’s Trophy, the Royal Automobile Club TT Celebration and the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy. The sports car races consist of the Whitsun Trophy, the Fordwater Trophy, the Madgwick Cup, the Freddie March Memorial Trophy and the Sussex Trophy. Classic single seaters will line up for the Goodwood Trophy, the Earl of March Trophy, the Chichester Cup, the Richmond Trophy and the Glover Trophy.
An extensive, wide-ranging programme of accompanying events enables visitors to imagine themselves in the 1940s to 1960s. These include classic car auctions and exhibitions, an air show, a supermarket selling products harking back to decades long gone plus a traditional fairground. Race participants and most of the visitors to the Revival dress in period clothing, contributing to the extraordinary atmosphere of the weekend.
Goodwood Revival 2011: Driver Portrayals
Juan Manuel Fangio
born: 24 June 1911
died: 17 July 1995
Juan Manuel Fangio was the most important Mercedes-Benz racing driver in 1954 and 1955. Born in 1911 in Balcarce, the Argentinian’s initial experience of long-distance racing was in his home country and it was not until 1951 that he first sat at the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz grand prix racing car. Yet his success was not confined to Formula 1 (world champion in 1951 and from 1954 to 1957 in succession), for Fangio also helped Mercedes-Benz to win the 1955 World Sportscar Championship, in which, driving a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, he finished second in the 1955 Mille Miglia behind his team colleague Stirling Moss. The exceptional thing about it was that Fangio drove the 1000 miles without a co-driver. Having ended his racing career, he became president of Mercedes-Benz Argentina S.A. He died in 1995 in Buenos Aires.
Juan Manuel Fangio II
born: 19 September 1956
Juan Manuel Fangio II bears a famous name. The nephew of five- time Formula 1 world champion Juan Manuel Fangio, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday in 2011, he inherited his uncle’s passion for motor sports. Fangio II grew up in close contact with several world-famous motor sports legends. Unlike his uncle, Fangio II spent the majority of his active racing career in North America. His successes included two wins in the 12 Hours of Sebring and victory in the IMSA GT Championship in 1992 and 1993, in the course of which he also set the record of 19 individual victories and won two manufacturers’ titles. In addition, Fangio raced in Formula 3000, the CART Championship and the American Le Mans Series. Juan Manuel Fangio II, whose career as a professional racing driver spanned the years from 1985 to 1997, lives in Balcarce (Argentina), the birthplace of his uncle. In 2011, he drove the Mille Miglia for Mercedes-Benz Classic, in team with Mika Häkkinen and in a type 300 SLR (W 196 S) in which his uncle in 1955 came on second place in that road race.
Hans Herrmann
born: 23 February 1928 in Stuttgart
After his motor sport debut, Mercedes-Benz racing manager Alfred Neubauer brought 25-year-old Hans Herrmann to the works team of Daimler-Benz AG at the start of the 1954 season. Herrmann finished in third place in the Swiss Grand Prix on 22 August 1954. Driving three W 196 Streamline racing cars, the Mercedes drivers finished the Avus race in Berlin on 19 September 1954 with a triple victory in the order Karl Kling, Juan Manuel Fangio, Hans Herrmann. During the 1955 racing season, Herrmann started a total of eight sports car races and ten Formula 1 races. In the Monaco Grand Prix he sat in for Kling and suffered serious injuries in an accident. Despite a full recovery he did not race for Mercedes-Benz again because the company withdrew from motor sport in October 1955. This marked the end of Herrmann’s engagement for Mercedes-Benz. In the following years he returned to racing car and sports car competitions. After racing in Formula 2 and Formula 1 he retired from racing in 1970 with a victory in the 24-hour race of Le Mans driving a Porsche. Herrmann continues to start for Mercedes-Benz in events with historical character to the present day.
Sir Stirling Moss
born: 17 September 1929 in London/England
His racing colleagues liked to refer to Sir Stirling Moss as an exceptional talent. Motor racing seems to have been something he was born with because motor cars accompanied him from his early childhood days through his parents, motor sport enthusiasts and themselves actively engaged in motor sport. At age 19 he won his first race, a few years later he was already racing in Formula 1. In 1955, he joined the Mercedes-Benz team and competed in all important events. Driving a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (W 196 S) he won the Mille Miglia in May 1955 in a fabulous record time of 10 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds, a record no one was ever able to break. He also won the Targa Florio driving the 300 SLR. In July he won the British Grand Prix in Aintree/England, just edging out Juan Manuel Fangio. It was his first Formula 1 victory and it was to remain his only one driving a Silver Arrow because Mercedes-Benz withdrew from motor sport at the end of the season. His string of successes continued in subsequent years, several times missing the world championship title by a hair’s breadth. A severe accident forced him to retire from racing in 1962. He still, however, has a connection with Mercedes-Benz because he repeatedly participates for the brand in classic events. Stirling Moss’s name at the same time stands for a move of the racing industry toward more professionalism: he was the first driver to have his own manager as far back as the early 1950s.
The vehicles from Mercedes-Benz at the Goodwood Revival 2011
Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (W 196 S), 1955
Mercedes-Benz won the sports car world championship with the 300 SLR in 1955. This sports car is essentially a Formula 1 W 196 racing car provided with a two-seater racing car body – but with a three-litre eight-cylinder in-line engine in light alloy instead of the 2.5-litre Formula 1 engine with steel cylinders. Rated at 300 hp (221 kW), the 300 SLR outperformed its rivals, scooping double victories in the Mille Miglia, the Eifel Race, the Swedish Grand Prix and the Targa Florio. In winning the Mille Miglia, Stirling Moss and co-driver Denis Jenkinson clocked up an average speed of 157.65 km/h (97.96 mph) – a feat that remains unsurpassed to this day. A useful aid in this race was the ‘prayer book’ – a new type of itinerary with crucial notes which Jenkinson drew up to guide driver Moss around the course. Juan Manuel Fangio, competing without a co-driver, came in second. In Sweden and in the 24-hour Le Mans race, the 300 SLRs caused a surprise with the so-called air brake – a panel measuring 0.7 square metres in size which the driver could open up over the rear axle to boost the braking effect. In Le Mans, Mercedes-Benz withdrew the 300 SLR following an accident suffered by Belgian driver Pierre Levegh through no fault of his own while he was in the leading position.
Mercedes-Benz W 196 R, 1954/1955
The Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Formula 1 racing car built for the 1954 season met all the requirements of the new Grand Prix formula defined by the CSI (Commission Sportive Internationale): displacement 750 cc with or 2500 cc without compressor, any fuel composition, racing distance 300 kilometres but at least three hours. The streamlined version was the first to be produced, as the opening race in Reims permitted very high speeds. A variant with free-standing wheels was subsequently produced. For its second season in 1955, this classic grand prix car was also available with shorter wheelbases: in addition to the 2350 millimetre long car from 1954, there were also variants with a wheelbase of 2150 and 2210 millimetres. The shortest variant was ideal for the narrow, winding circuit through Monaco. The space frame was light and robust, the chassis with torsion bar suspension and a new single-joint swing axle at the rear plus giant turbo-cooled duplex disc brakes which were initially fitted in an inside central position was as accomplished as it was unconventional. The car was powered by an eight-cylinder in-line engine (2496 cc) with direct injection and desmodromic (positive-controlled, without valve springs) valves (1954: 256 hp/188 kW at 8260 rpm, 1955: 290 hp/213 kW at 8500 rpm). The engine unit was mounted in the latticework frame at an incline of 53 degrees to the right, in order to lower the centre of gravity and to reduce the size of the frontal area. The top speed was over 300 km/h (186.42 mph).
Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
The glittering motorsport history of the Mercedes-Benz brand is a big focus of Mercedes-Benz Classic. Participation in the ADAC Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring is one of the ways it is honouring this heritage: from 9 to 11 September 2011, drivers and fans will be joining together to celebrate a festival of historical motor racing, which is now in its fourth year in this format.The event will commemorate high points in the motorsport history of Mercedes-Benz: for example, when Rudolf Caracciola won the first Eifelrennen on 19 June 1927 in the category for sports cars with five-litre-plus engines, driving a Mercedes-Benz S-Type – a supercharged touring sports car. Or the birth of the Silver Arrows legend in 1934, when the Mercedes-Benz racing cars appeared at the Eifelrennen not in the usual white livery, but with their shiny aluminium bodywork exposed.
In 2008, the Eifelrennen was relaunched as a premium event for vintage vehicles. It is the perfect stage for showcasing some of the racing cars and sports cars in the Mercedes-Benz Classic stable. In 2011, the choice of classic vehicles has been guided largely by the triumphs of Juan Manuel Fangio at the Nürburgring.
The occasion for this special theme is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Fangio – Argentine-born and once the number one driver for Mercedes-Benz: at the Nürburgring, Fangio won the 1954 European Grand Prix in an open-wheel W 196 R racing car and also the 1955 Eifelrennen in a 300 SLR sports car. Besides that W 196 R with open-wheels one race transporter will be representing at this year’s Eifelrennen. Former Mercedes-Benz drivers Roland Asch, Dieter Glemser and Jochen Mass have also been lined up to appear as brand ambassadors.
Brand ambassadors Mercedes-Benz Classic at the 2011 Eifelrennen
Roland Asch
Born in Ammerbuch-Altingen, Germany, on 12 October 1950
A qualified car mechanic with his own successful car dealership in Ammerbuch near Tübingen, Asch has a passion not only for motorsport, but for the technology that makes motorsport possible in the first place. But he is no die-hard driver. Motorsport has always remained a hobby for him, albeit a time-consuming one.
Roland Asch began his career in slalom racing and hillclimbs (1976-1982), securing the title of German Hillclimbing Champion in 1981 before achieving further success as the overall winner of three Porsche 944 Turbo Cups (1987/88/89) and one Carrera Cup (1989), and as runner-up after moving to the German Touring Car Championship.
After starring in the German Racing Championship, he made his debut in the 1985 German Touring Car Championship. This was followed by engagements for the MS-Mercedes team in 1989, for the Snobeck-Mercedes team in 1990, for Zakspeed-Mercedes in 1991 and 1992, and for AMG-Mercedes in 1993. In 1992 (Eifelrennen, Hockenheim) and 1993 (Diepholz and twice at the Avus race in Berlin), he recorded five victories and a string of high-placed finishes. And in 1988 (Mercedes 190 E 2.3-16 for the BMK motorsport team) and 1993 (Mercedes 190 E 2.5-16 Evo II Class 1), he finished as runner-up with Mercedes-Benz in the German Touring Car Championship.
Since 1995 – after moving to the Super Touring Car Cup – he has driven for a wide range of other racing teams.
Dieter Glemser
Born in Kirchheim/Teck on 28 June 1938
Dieter Glemser’s career in the fast lane began with the Schorndorf Hill Climb race in 1960. Many classic racing triumphs followed in various mountain and circuit races on the Nürburgring.
Glemser began racing for Daimler-Benz AG in 1963, winning overall in a Mercedes 220 SE at the Poland Rally and taking second place in both the Germany Rally (including a class victory) and the Argentine Grand Prix. In the following year, too, Glemser participated in the triple victory of the teams Böhringer/Kaiser, Glemser/Braungart and Rosqvist/Falk at the Argentine Grand Prix.
Glemser celebrated victory once again in 1971 with a European Champion title with Ford in the touring car championships and a win at the 24-hour Spa-Francorchamps event, and also held the title of German Motor Sport Champion in 1973 and 1974. However, following a severe accident caused by tyre damage at the Macau Touring Car Race, Southeast China, in November 1974, he decided to end his active motorsport career.
For ten years from 1990, Dieter Glemser was a member of the Mercedes-Benz Motorsport team, and as department manager was responsible for organisation. From 2001 to 2008, he worked on a freelance basis for Mercedes-AMG and Daimler AG for sport and driver safety training and at classic events. He continues to drive at Mercedes-Benz classic events to this day.
Jochen Mass
Born in Dorfen near Wolfratshausen/Munich on 30 September 1946
Jochen Mass, originally a trained seaman, began his richly varied motorsport career in 1968 racing touring cars for Alfa-Romeo and as a works team driver for Ford between 1970 and 1975. During this time, he won the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (1972). At the same time, he drove in Formula 2 (1973) and in 105 Formula 1 Grands Prix (1973/74 for Surtees; 1975-1977 for McLaren; 1978 for ATS; 1979/80 for Arrows; 1982 for March). With the 1985 German Sportscar Championship title and a stint as works driver at Porsche until 1987 under his belt, he was recruited for the Sauber-Mercedes team, also as a works driver.
He drove in Group C for this team until 1991. In the new Silver Arrow, the Sauber-Mercedes C 9, Jochen Mass won the 24 Hours of Le Mans together with Manuel Reuter and Stanley Dickens and finished runner-up in the 1989 World Championship. Three years later, Mass became involved in team management for the German Touring Car Championship.
Jochen Mass still represents Mercedes-Benz at historical racing events and at vintage super sports car events. Whether it’s a 40-horsepower Simplex from 1902 or a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR from 1955 – Jochen Mass knows them all and drives them all.
Vehicles of Mercedes-Benz Classic at the 2011 Eifelrennen
Mercedes-Benz W 196 R (version with open wheels), 1955
In 1954, the Silver Arrows returned as Mercedes-Benz entered the Formula 1 fray with the W 196. The first race for this new 2.5-litre racing car, the French Grand Prix in July 1954, ended with a double victory for Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling. The eye-catching ‘Streamliner’ proved to be the right choice for the high-speed track in Reims.
In most races in the 1954 and 1955 seasons, however, a classic open-wheel monoposto was used, which was better suited for race circuits with lots of bends. Three other victories were secured in the W 196 R in 1954; in the following season it was five; and in both years Fangio became the world champion.
Vehicle
Year of construction: 1955
Cylinder: R8
Engine size: 2496 cc
Performance: 290 hp (213 kW)
Maximum speed: approx. 300 km/h
Mercedes-Benz high-speed transporter, 1955
In 1955, Mercedes-Benz’s racing division created a high-speed transporter which incorporated the direct-injection, six-cylinder in-line engine of the 300 SL super sports car. Its job was to speedily transport broken-down racing cars to the workshop for repair, to bring in replacement cars as quickly as possible, and to transport others to test tracks with a minimum of fuss.
The 192 hp (141 kW) three-litre engine was fitted into the extended frame of a Mercedes-Benz 300 S luxury sports car. It could move the cab-over-engine truck, which weighed in at 2,100 kilograms, at an impressive 165 km/h. The range of the ‘express’ was around 600 kilometres, with fuel consumption of 25 litres per 100 kilometres – thanks to a 150-litre tank.
On the instruction of Rudolf Uhlenhaut, then head of passenger car development at Daimler-Benz AG, this one-off model was scrapped in December 1967. The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center spent several years building a replica of the transporter with its steel and aluminium body. This new edition of the express race transporter was finished in April 2001.
Vehicle
Year of construction: 1955
Cylinder: R6
Engine size: 2998 cc
Performance: 192 hp (141 kW)
Maximum speed: 170 km/h
Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
The annual international classic calendar will not finish until November – with the “London to Brighton Veteran Car Run” (LBVCR) in England. In the anniversary year celebrating “125 years of the automobile”, Mercedes-Benz, as a primary sponsor, will be entering two vehicles in the event on 5 and 6 November 2011: a 1902 two-seater Mercedes-Simplex racing car, and a 1904 four-seater Mercedes-Simplex touring car.
“It’s an honour for Mercedes-Benz to support the event in this year of the anniversary of the automobile”, says Michael Bock, head of Mercedes-Benz Classic and director of the Mercedes-Benz Museum. “We invented the automobile, and the ‘London to Brighton Veteran Car Run’ is the oldest classic car event worldwide. That represents the basis for an ideal collaboration.”
The “London to Brighton Veteran Car Run”, held in the anniversary year of the automobile, will be symbolically opened by Jutta Benz, the great-granddaughter of Carl Benz, inventor of the automobile. She will be driving a replica of the 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen. This is the 63rd year since 1948 that Mercedes-Benz will have attended the Veteran Car Run, which is an annual highlight of the Mercedes-Benz Classic calendar.
The two participating Mercedes-Simplex cars are outstanding vehicles considering the automotive technology of their time. Following the invention of the automobile in 1886, the Mercedes-Simplex model, introduced in 1901 by the former Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, is regarded by today’s experts as the first modern automobile. For the first time, it showed important features which can still be found in passenger cars today, such as the low centre of gravity, the honeycomb radiator and an inclined steering column.
The Mercedes-Benz vehicles will once again be piloted by celebrity drivers this year: one will be driven by Nigel Mansell, 1992 British Formula 1 World Champion. Doug Nye, well-known British motor journalist, and Bernd Ostman, editor-in-chief of the professional journal “Auto Motor und Sport”, will be driving the second vehicle.
Remembering the emancipation of the automobile
The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is held exclusively for vehicles built before 1904. The annual event marks the “Emancipation Run” of 14 November 1896. That event was organised by Harry J. Lawson in celebration of a then new law in Britain that raised the maximum permitted speed for automobiles with an internal combustion engine, from a walking pace of 6.4 km/h (4 miles per hour) to 22.4 km/h (16 miles per hour). The new law also abolished the requirement that vehicles be preceded by a man walking ahead of the vehicle, for the safety of other road users, as previously required by the 1865 “Locomotive Act”, also known as the “Red Flag Act”. The first event was started by the symbolic tearing up of a red flag, since, up until 1878, the man walking ahead of the vehicle had to also carry a red flag as a warning.
The first official commemorative repeat of the London to Brighton Run took place in 1927, and since then it has been organised annually, with the exception of the years 1940 to 1947. The 77th event will take place this year. This makes the Run the oldest existing motoring event in the world, and, at the same time, the largest gathering of veteran cars from the early days of automotive history. In addition to four-wheeled cars with internal combustion engines, three-wheelers and also steam cars and electric cars will also take part. The British Royal Automobile Club has been organising the Run since 1930.
In the 2011 Run, 550 vehicles from 20 countries are expected to take part. They will set out on 6 November 2011, on the approximately 96-kilometre (60-mile) course, which mainly follows the A23 road. The oldest vehicle is expected to be a Benz Victoria from 1894. As many as 500,000 spectators are expected to line the route. The start is at Apsley Gate, at London’s Hyde Park, where the first vehicles will depart at the official sunrise time of 7.02 a.m. From there, the cars will head to a checkpoint at Market Square, Crawley, before the event comes to an official end in Preston Park, a suburb of the seaside resort of Brighton. The unofficial, but actual finish is subsequently also celebrated by the public on the grand promenade, Madeira Drive. Only cars that arrive in Brighton by sunset will be counted.
Around 100 vehicles will take part in an eve-of-event concours d’elegance, on London’s Regent Street, on Saturday, 5 November 2011. Each car will be individually introduced, and spectators will have an opportunity for closer inspection. Before that event, on 4 November 2011, Bonhams on New Bond Street will host an auction of vehicles and automobilia from the early days.
Mercedes-Simplex: the modern automobile
The two Mercedes-Benz Classic cars which are to take part are from the company’s own collection. Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft produced a range of automobiles bearing the Simplex designation at Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, from 1901 to 1905, all of which had two things in common: they were designed by Wilhelm Maybach, and they were superior to all other cars at the time. The Simplex represented the pivotal transition from motorised carriage to purpose-built car.
The most striking technical features of the Mercedes-Simplex were its four-cylinder, front-mounted engine with cylinders cast in pairs, the U-section pressed steel frame, a low centre of gravity, honeycomb radiator and inclined steering column. These features are what provided the typical car-like appearance that distinguished it from contemporary carriage-type automobiles. Next to the 38/40 PS Mercedes-Simplex, the 28/32 PS was the more compact automobile.
Technical data for the 38/40 PS Mercedes-Simplex racing car
Year of construction: 1902
Cylinders: 4 (in-line) Displacement: 6558 ccm
Output: 40 hp (29 kW) at 1050 rpm
Maximum speed: approx. 75 km/h
Vehicle weight: 1250 kg
Technical data for the 28/32 PS Mercedes-Simplex touring car
Year of construction: 1904
Cylinders: 4 (in-line)
Displacement: 5315 ccm
Output: 32 hp (24 kW) at 1200 rpm
Maximum speed: approx. 60 km/h
Vehicle weight: 1250 kg
Technical data for the Benz Patent-Motorwagen Model I
Year of construction: 1886
Cylinders: Single-cylinder four-stroke engine with buzzer ignition
Displacement: 954 ccm
Output: 0.75 hp (0.55 kW) at 400 rpm
Fuel consumption: approx. 10 litres per 100 km
Maximum speed: 16 km/h
Vehicle weight: 265 kg
Nigel Mansell
Born on 8 August 1953 in Upton-on-Severn, Worcestershire, England.
The rise of Mansell’s sporting career proceeded in a straight line from karting 1968–75, the Formula Ford 1976–77 and the British Formula 3 Championship 1978–80, all the way to his Formula 1 début in 1980 in a Lotus Ford.
A long series with successful races in Formula 1 followed, crowned by three second-place titles and finally, in 1992, the World Champion title. After a brief interlude in the IndyCar Series (he won the Champion title on his first attempt in 1993), he returned to Formula 1 in 1994, and won the Grand Prix in Australia.
In 1995, he started twice in the Formula 1 for Team McLaren-Mercedes, but left the team before the end of the season.
Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
125 years ago – on 9 October 1886: Gottlieb Daimler filed a patent application for his marine engine (German Reich patent office registration no. 39 367, issued on 1 June 1887).
75 years ago – from 1 to 11 October 1936: The model 540 K (W 29) was presented as the successor to the 500 K at the Paris Motor, featuring an uprated 5.4 litre supercharged engine. The model 230 (W 143) was also premiered. Its 2.3 litre six-cylinder engine was rated at 55 hp (40 kW).
50 years ago – from 26 October to 5 November 1961: The team comprising Walter Schock and Manfred Schiek won the Argentinian Road Grand Prix for touring cars in a Mercedes-Benz 220 SE (W 111).
25 years ago – on 1 October 1986: The PROMETHEUS research project initiated by Daimler-Benz, which aimed to establish new prospects for the future of transport, was launched as part of the “EUREKA” European research initiative , with the involvement of 14 European automobile manufacturers. Various electronic assistance systems which are standard today first arose in the course of this project.
Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
The history of Mercedes-Benz began with the birth of the automobile 125 years ago – an anniversary which is being celebrated at various events this year. “Mercedes-Benz Classic is marking what was a defining moment in the both the history of engineering and the broader social context. An invention that continues to influence the world to this day – as demonstrated at the Schloss Dyck Classic Days 2011”, notes Michael Bock, head of Mercedes-Benz Classic and Mercedes-Benz Museum GmbH.“I am particularly delighted that Jutta Benz, great-granddaughter of Bertha and Carl Benz will be attending the event in this anniversary year.” The event will take place in Jüchen in the Rhine district of Neuss on 6 and 7 August 2011. Mercedes-Benz Classic will be celebrating the invention of the automobile at this event with an exhibition of automotive milestones from the company’s own collection. Another focus of the event is Juan Manuel Fangio, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year.
More on this topic >> HERE
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Programmed Events: - Mercedes-Benz Classic at the Schloss Dyck Classic Days, 5 to 7 August 2011.- Mercedes-Benz Classic at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, 21 August 2011.125 years ago – in August 1886: Gottlieb Daimler undertook initial trial trips on the Neckar near Cannstatt with a motorboat powered by his high-speed single-cylinder engine. The same engine was also installed in his first four-wheel automobile in 1886. With this drive assembly and its successors, Daimler kept his sights firmly set on developing engines for land-bound, water- and air-borne transport.Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
After deep historical investigation led by Mercedes-Benz, the enigma that shrouded the details about the exact birthplace of Carl Benz vanished away, thus closing an important gap in the biography of the prominent figure. It was concluded that the inventor of world's first autonomously-powered vehicle saw the light of day on 25th November 1844 in the German city of Karlsruhe, specifically in the Mühlburg district on Rheinstrasse 22. The house he was born in no longer exists, as it was knocked down in the 1950s to allow for the widening of the street. At this time, a department store functions at the site. In order to mark the importance of the location, there are solid plans to construct a birthplace memorial near the current building.
Read more key facts about this topic:
>> Mercedes-Benz Classic: Fresh clues to the birthplace of Carl Benz
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