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Cernobbio, 17th May, 2023
The setting, vehicles and dates speak for themselves: on the third weekend in May, Lake Como is the hub of the classic world. There, several events on 20 and 21 May 2023 will present vehicles that are rarely seen. Among them are highlights from the brand history of Mercedes-Benz, which stand for milestones in motorsport and aerodynamic development: the Group C racing sports car Sauber-Mercedes C 9 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1989 with a one-two victory. The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (W 194) racing sports car achieved the same triumph in 1952. The MercedesBenz 540 K Streamliner (W 29) was built as a spectacular one-off in 1938.
"I am delighted that selected vehicles from Mercedes-Benz history can be experienced at the automotive events on Lake Como. In the special ambience of Lombardy, these concours events continue a long tradition of such events since the beginning of the 20th century." Marcus Breitschwerdt, Head of Mercedes-Benz Heritage
Marcus Breitschwerdt will also take part in the series of events. On Sunday, he will appear as a guest for a panel discussion on the importance of automotive museums at Villa Sucota. The focus will be on their role in society, the relationship between car manufacturers and private collectors, and visions for car museums in the future.
300 SL racing sports car (W 194) at the Concorso Villa d’Este The Le Mans winning car of 1952 is a 300 SL racing car (W 194). It takes part in the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. The racing car belongs to a private collector. After the Second World War, Mercedes-Benz made a spectacular return to racing with the W 194. The new racing car won in Bern, at the Nürburgring and at the legendary Carrera Panamericana in Mexico. There was an outstanding victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1952 with Hermann Lang and Fritz Rieß in car 0007 with starting number 21 and a blue border around the radiator grille. Second place went to Theo Helfrich and Helmut Niedermayr, also with a 300 SL racing car.
The axles, transmission and base engine of the W 194 came from the Mercedes-Benz 300 (W 186) representation saloon. A completely new feature was a lightweight but very torsionally rigid roll cage. Because this was set high, the 300 SL could not be fitted with conventional doors. The MercedesBenz engineers came up with a solution in the form of the characteristic gullwing doors hinged on the roof. This and many other features were adopted from 1954 onwards by the 300 SL (W 198), the production sports car developed from the W 194.
Le Mans winner in front of Villa Erba Villa Erba, not far from Villa d’Este on the eastern shore of Lake Como, presents the special exhibition “100 Years of Le Mans”. Successful racing cars from various manufacturers from the history of the legendary 24-hour race can be seen here. In 1989, the Sauber-Mercedes C 9 Group C racing car achieved a spectacular one-two victory in Le Mans. In the car with the starting number 63, Jochen Mass, Stanley Dickens and Manuel Reuter won the most famous endurance race in the world. They were followed in second place by their teammates Mauro Baldi, Kenny Acheson and Gianfranco Brancatelli in the C 9 with starting number 61 – this vehicle is presented by Mercedes-Benz Classic at Villa Erba.
In 1988, Mercedes-Benz officially returned to international circuit motorsport in Group C. From 1989 onwards, the Sauber-Mercedes team also visually continued the legendary era of the Silver Arrows: for the first time, the C 9 was entered in the World Sports Car Championship with silver paint. The chassis was built by Peter Sauber in Hinwil (Switzerland), and Mercedes-Benz supplied the very reliable five-litre V8 engine M 119 with turbocharging. The power output was 520 kW (720 hp). The Sauber-Mercedes team easily won the 1989 World Sports Car Championship with the C 9.
540 K Streamliner (W 29) at the FuoriConcorso In Como itself, on 20 and 21 May, there will be a fairly young event that is also highly attractive, the FuoriConcorso, founded in 2019. Very close to the city centre, the 2023 event is themed “Aerodynamic”. On the extensive grounds of the Villas Grumello, Sucota and Olmo, selected cars demonstrate the development of aerodynamics over the decades. A star here is the Mercedes-Benz 540 K Streamliner.
The one-off car, which can reach speeds of up to 185 km/h, embodies the great efforts made by Mercedes-Benz for optimum aerodynamics in the 1930s. It was delivered to the tyre manufacturer Dunlop for high-speed tyre testing in June 1938. Its eight-cylinder engine with a displacement of 5.4 litres produces 132 kW (180 hp) with a compressor. Mercedes-Benz Classic rebuilt the vehicle in 2014 as part of an authentic reconstruction. The drag coefficient measured afterwards is cd = 0.36. That is an excellent value for a 1930s car.
Exclusive tradition The history of automotive beauty contests on Lake Como dates back to 1929. This is when the international Concours d’Elegance “Coppa d’Oro Villa d’Este” was held for the first time. The competition was initially organised by the Automobile Club of Como, the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este and the Spa Committee. In Germany, too, automotive beauty contests, for example in Baden-Baden and Wiesbaden, thrilled the public at the same time. The prize-winners often included vehicles from the still young Mercedes-Benz brand. It was founded in 1926 when Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft merged with Benz & Cie. to form Daimler-Benz AG.
002 | Piccard-Pictet - R2 1920 | s/n | …. | - | Fondation des archives de la familie Pictet (CH) | 004 | Chrysler - Cl Imperial 1933 | s/n | …. | - | Jack Boyd Smith Jr. (US) | 006 | Lancia - Astura 1937 | s/n | 33-5311 | - | Collection D'leteren (BE) | 008 | Alvis - Speed 25 Sc 1937 | s/n | 19120 | - | James Sprague (US) | 010 | Bentley - 4 1/4 Litre Barouche De Ville 1938 | s/n | B-38-MR | - | Axel Schröter (MC) | 012 | Lagonda - V12 Rapide 1938 | s/n | 14107R | - | Adrian Burr (UK) | 014 | Lancia - Lambda Casaro Torpedo 1924 | s/n | …. | - | Anthony McLean (CH) | 016 | Mercedes-Benz - 680 S 1928 | s/n | 35945 | - | Hans-Peter Fricke (DE) | 018 | Bugatti - Type 57 S 1936 | s/n | 57375 | - | Nigel Corner (UK) | 020 | BMW – 328 1937 | s/n | 85014 | - | The May Collection (DE) | 022 | Delahaye – 145 1938 | s/n | 48773 | - | Peter & Merle Mullin (US) | 024 | Rolls-Royce - Silver Ghost 40/50 Hp 1922 | s/n | …. | - | Karamjit Singh Jaiswal (IN) (IN) | 028 | Rolls-Royce - Sports Phantom 17ex 1928 | s/n | 17EX | - | Alexander Schaufler (AT) | 026 | Rolls-Royce - 20 H.P. 1925 | s/n | …. | - | Shefali Prakash (UK) | 030 | Packard - Standard Eight 7 Seater Tourer 1934 | s/n | …. | - | Rajiv Kehr (IN) | 032 | Duesenberg – Sj 1935 | s/n | 2614/SJ-585 | - | William Lyon (US) | 034 | Rolls-Royce - Silver Wraith 1949 | s/n | …. | - | Yohan Poonawalla (IN) | 036 | Porsche - 356 Pre-A 1954 | s/n | 60684 | - | Al Barbour (US) | 038 | Porsche - 901 Prototyp 1963 | s/n | 13.326 | - | Alois Ruf (DE) | 040 | Porsche - 904 Carerra Gts 1964 | s/n | 904-089 | - | Marcus Wolsdorf (DE) | 042 | Porsche - 917 K 1970 | s/n | 917-020 | - | Christophe Count d'Ansembourg (BE) | 044 | Porsche - 911 Carerra Rs 2.7 1973 | s/n | 9113600768 | - | Auriga Collection (DE) | 046 | Porsche – 935 1979 | s/n | 000 00027 | - | Phillip Sarofim (US) | 050 | Porsche - 911 GT1 1998 | s/n | WP0ZZZ99ZWS 396021 | - | Frank Gelf (DE) | 052 | Alfa Romeo - 6c 2500 SS La Serenissima 1950 | s/n | …. | - | Stephen Bruno (US) | 054 | Frazer-Nash - Le Mans 1954 | s/n | …. | - | Albert Streminski (DE) | 056 | Ats - 2500 GTS 1963 | s/n | …. | - | Nicholas & Shelley Schorsch (US) | 058 | Ferrari - 330 GTC Speciale 1967 | s/n | 9653 | - | William E. Heinecke (TH) | 060 | Lamborghini - Miura P400 SV 1971 | s/n | 4838 | - | Eizo Tomita (JP) | 062 | BMW - M1 1980 | s/n | …. | - | Neal Heffron (US) | 064 | Ferrari - 288 GTO 1985 | s/n | 58323 | - | Horst Koester (DE) | 066 | Ferrari - 212 E 1951 | s/n | 0080E | - | Brian Ross (US) | 068 | Ghia – Cadillac 1953 | s/n | …. | - | Lee Carr (US) | 070 | Chrysler - Ghia GS-1 Special 1953 | s/n | …. | - | Franesco Ansaloni (IT) | 072 | Lancia – Florida 1955 | s/n | B56-1002 | - | Corrado Lopresto (IT) | 074 | Maserati - A6G/54 1956 | s/n | 2186 | - | Jonathan & Wendy Segal (US) | 076 | Aston Martin - DB4 GT 1960 | s/n | DB4GT/0144/L | - | Joerg Wolle (CH) | 078 | Maserati - 3500 GT 1962 | s/n | 101.2102 | - | Hidetomo Kimura (JP) | 080 | Peugeot - 302 Darl'mat Sport 1937 | s/n | 765501 | - | Philip White (US) | 082 | Aston Martin - Db2 1950 | s/n | LML/50/8 | - | The Golden Age Collection (DE) | 084 | Mercedes-Benz - 300 SL 1952 "W83 - 3784" | s/n | 194.010.00007/52 | - | Bruce McCaw (US) | 086 | Ferrari - 250 Testa Rossa 1959 | s/n | 0774TR | - | Peter Goodwin (US) | 088 | Ferrari - 250 GTO 1962 | s/n | 4153GT | - | David MacNeil (US) | 090 | Ford - GT40 1968 | s/n | P/1075 | - | Rob Walton (US) | 092 | Porsche - 936/77 1976 | s/n | 936-001 | - | Private Collection (UK) | 094 | Ferrari - 512 BB LM 1981 | s/n | 35529 | - | Christopher Stahl (DE) | 096 | Bentley - R-Type Continental1954 | s/n | BC63LC | - | Stephen Brauer (US) | 098 | BMW – 507 1959 | s/n | 70235 | - | Karl Gerhold (DE) | 100 | Ferrari - 250 GT California Spyder 1961 | s/n | 3021GT | - | Keybridge Collection (HK) | 102 | Apollo - 3500 Gran Turismo Spyder 1963 | s/n | …. | - | Dennis & Susan Garrity (US) | 104 | Citroën - SM Espace 1971 | s/n | HZ1971-1 | - | Thierry Dehaeck (BE) | 106 | Isdera - Spyder 033-16 1986 | s/n | …. | - | Henricus van den Anker (NL) |
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