Mercedes and Benz Racing 1900-1955

From Daimler and Benz and the birth of the Mercedes marque, and its withdrawal from Grand Prix and Sports car racing, this sweeping history spans the golden era of motorsport. Encompassing Grands Prix, wooden board racing, and endurance epics like the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, and Carrera Pan Americana to record-breaking hill climbs and land speed challenges across Europe, the USA, and South America.

Meet the fearless pioneers who pushed the limits of engineering and courage – Emil Jellinek, Ferdinand Porsche, Camille Jenatzy, Christian Lautenschlager, Otto Salzer, Ralph de Palma, Barney Oldfield, Alfred Neubauer, Manfred von Brauchitsch, Rudolf Caracciola, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, Juan Fangio, Stirling Moss … just a few of the names that feature across Mercedes-Benz' long racing history.Featuring prominently, of course, are the mighty cars themselves, such as the Gordon Bennett racers, Blitzen Benz, the 1914 Supercharged Mercedes … plus W25, W125, W154, W196, and 300SL – mixed with those recognisable ones that it would be churlish to leave out!

The more than 1200+ evocative period images, many of which have never been published, feature sources including the Porsche and Audi archives, with some outstanding images supporting the narrative, and the many dramatic photographs retrieved from the depths of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Archives.