And then we talk about the Mercedes Silver Arrows, the Mercedes Silber Pfeile racing cars from the fifties, from the heyday of Mercedes motorsport. But of course we do not forget that Mercedes-Benz is also doing well in today's F1 world.
From July to September
During the summer months (July 7 to September 2), the Louwman Museum presents a retrospective of the legendary Mercedes Silber Pfeile racing cars from the 1s. The seven unique vehicles represent one of the most heroic periods in motorsport history and played an important role in the development of Formula XNUMX cars and sports cars for long-distance racing during that period.
A restart from 1952
From 1952 Mercedes-Benz was again active in motorsport. This was not without success. The 300 SL (W 194) achieved several victories that year, including the Swiss Grand Prix, followed by spectacular victories in the Le Mans 24 hours race and the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico. The 300 SL car on display with serial number 2 and its characteristic gull-wing doors is the oldest surviving SL.
Back in the Formula 1
In 1954, Mercedes-Benz returned in Formula 1 with two different versions of the famous W 196 R; the streamlined version for the long circuits and the version with 'open' wheels for the short and more curvy circuits. Both versions can be seen at the exhibition. The legendary Argentinian driver, Juan Manuel Fangio, immediately became world champion with the W 196 R in the starting year.
In 1955, Fangio again became world champion, in a season that was characterized by an exciting battle with, among others, his English teammate Stirling Moss. Historically, the fight was during the F1 competition at Zandvoort. Fangio won with only 0,3 second ahead of Moss. An F1 competition at Zandvoort would never be settled with a smaller difference on the finish line.
The Mercedes 300 SLR
Based on the W 196 R, the 1955 SLR was developed in 300 for participation in the World Sports Car Championship. That was the sports car with which Stirling Moss and Dennis Jenkinson would achieve the victory in the Mille Miglia in a record matchless time that year. For the 1956 season, engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut developed a closed version of the 300 SLR.
This 300 SLR 'Uhlenhaut Coupé' has never competed in an official race. But it is considered the very first super sports car and one of the most expensive cars in the world. Both the 'open' 300 SLR and the 'Uhlenhaut Coupé' can be viewed at the exhibition.
A very fast transport truck
Especially for the transport of these 'Silver Arrows' racing and sports cars, the Mercedes-Benz racing department in 1954 developed an ultra-fast transport car that would go down in history as the 'Blue Wonder'. The exhibited car has been rebuilt.
The cars on display are absolute top pieces from the permanent collection of the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart and in a number of cases can be seen for the first time in the Netherlands.
