120 years of motor sports under the Mercedes star

At the fair Tecno Classica 2014, all visitors, journalists and opinion leaders were impressed by the grandeur of the exhibition created by Mercedes-Benz to celebrate 120 years of Motor Sport. Cars with an exceptional sporting history have been the center of attention of all fans.

From history’s first automobile race in 1894 to the various current involvements in motor sports, the motor sport activities of Mercedes-Benz and the predecessor brands tell a story of success whose roots date back to the very early days of the automobile. Since the 19th century the racing and rally cars from Stuttgart have consistently been at the head of the pack in sporting competitions. Outstanding moments in the brand’s racing history include participation in the world’s first-ever car race in 1894, the first Grand Prix victory of a Mercedes at the Nice Race Week in 1901, the one-two-three finish of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in the Grand Prix of Lyon in 1914, the age of the supercharged cars after 1922, and, above all, the era of the Silver Arrows. The era of the Silver Arrows lasted from the 1930s to 1955, interrupted by the Second World War. Brand historians use the name Silver Arrows to refer to a whole family of racing cars, record-breaking vehicles and racing sports cars which became legendary on account of their silver-coloured bodies, superb engineering and historic victories. Before the war Mercedes-Benz dominated the European Grands Prix with the Silver Arrows. In 1952, the brand returned to motor sport with the 300 SL racing sports car (W 194), followed ultimately by the Formula 1 world championship titles in 1954 and 1955 with the W 196 R and the sports car world championship title with the 300 SLR (W 196 S) in 1955. The magic moments continued in rally races and record-setting runs. These are the foundations of the current success in Formula 1, the DTM (German Touring Car Masters) and customer sport.