Celebrating 130 years of motor sports and Mercedes-Benz in racing: five cars to take home from the Mercedes-Benz Museum

It’s July 22, everyone: happy birthday motor racing, happy birthday Mercedes-Benz in racing! That’s right: the first recorded motor race took place on July 22, 1894. It was organized by the Paris magazine Le Petit Journal. The race was known as the Paris-Rouen Competition for Horseless Carriages (yep…). It covered a distance of approximately 126 kilometers (about 78 miles) from Paris to Rouen. The event aimed to promote the capabilities of the emerging automobile technology. It attracted numerous participants driving a variety of vehicles, including steam-powered, petrol-powered, and electric cars.

Count Jules-Albert de Dion finished first, driving a steam-powered vehicle, However, he was not awarded the grand prize because his car required a stoker, which was considered a disadvantage. Therefore, we’re also celebrating 130 years of bending the rules in motor sports. Instead, the first prize was shared between the Peugeot and Panhard & Levassor companies, whose petrol-powered cars were deemed the most practical and reliable. This historic race marked the beginning of organized motor racing and set the stage for the development of the automotive industry.

Celebrating 130 years Mercedes-Benz in racing

But the impressive part is that all “petrolicious” cars were equipped with either Daimler or Benz engines. In short, it was a total domination for Mercedes (Benz). Remember that the two were still not one “thing” back then. Technically, all the winning manufacturers were customers, so July 22 also marks 130 years of Mercedez-Benz customer racing. And while we’re at it: bonus points for Peugeot as they won the race with the Daimler engine. Therefore, it’s also Peugeot’s 130 years in racing. Someone might want to tell the French manufacturer as I don’t see much communication about this on their side. Learn more from the event at Wikipedia.

That said, I wanted to celebrate this by sharing my top five race or sports cars found at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. There’s quite a lot to choose from, so those were difficult (and personal) choices.

5. 1886 Benz Patent Motor Car: bragging rights to own auto #1

This is where it all started, folks. The 1886 Benz Patent Motor Car, invented by Karl Benz, is widely regarded as the world’s first automobile. This pioneering vehicle featured a single-cylinder four-stroke engine mounted on a tricycle frame. It was producing 0.75 horsepower and reaching a top speed of approximately 16 km/h (10 mph). The car’s innovative design included essential automotive elements such as a differential, a simple carburetor, and ignition via a coil system. It set the foundation for future automobile development.

Unveiled on January 29, 1886, the Benz Patent Motor Car marked the beginning of the automotive era. Its groundbreaking engineering and successful public demonstrations showcased the potential of motorized vehicles. It led to widespread acceptance and further advancements in the field. Today, the Benz Patent Motor Car is celebrated as a historic milestone in transportation. It definitely symbolizes the birth of the modern automobile industry. Can this be considered a sports car? Absolutely: driving it was probably very demanding in a sport-kind of way. Not sure if this unit is still in working order, so I’ll classify it as a living room sculpture.

Petrofact: in 1888, Bertha Benz undertook the first long-distance automobile journey. She drove this car from Mannheim to Pforzheim, demonstrating the viability and potential of the automobile.

4. 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL coupé: the one to daily drive

The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupé, often referred to as the “Gullwing” due to its distinctive upward-opening doors, is a legend. This sports car emerged as an icon of automotive design and engineering. Introduced at the 1954 New York Auto Show, the 300 SL was powered by a 3.0-liter inline-six engine with direct fuel injection, producing around 215 horsepower. This advanced technology, combined with its lightweight tubular frame and aerodynamic body, enabled the car to reach speeds of up to 260 km/h (161 mph). It was the fastest production car of its time. Its striking design, coupled with its impressive performance, earned it a revered status among car enthusiasts and collectors.

While the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupé is road-legal and can be driven daily, it comes with certain practical considerations. However, for those willing to embrace its unique character and the occasional challenge, the 300 SL offers an unparalleled driving experience and a connection to automotive history.

Petrofact: even to this day, one can still see quite a few owners regularly taking them (or its Roadster version) to the streets. Hey, some are even racing them at the salt flats of Bonneville, as seen in our film, above!

3. 1955 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R 2.5-liter streamlined Formula One racing car and 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR racing sports car: the dynamic duo

OK, I’ll admit: I’m cheating a little bit here and picking two for the price of one. But this is how much those cars are intertwined in their history. Both share a deep connection through their advanced engineering and success on the racetrack. The W 196 R, piloted by legends like Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss, was a dominant force in Formula One. It captured both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in 1954 and 1955. Its streamlined design, advanced fuel-injected 2.5-liter straight-eight engine, and innovative suspension made it a technological marvel of its time.

The 300 SLR, essentially an evolution of the W 196 R, adapted its technology for endurance racing. It featured a 3.0-liter version of the W 196 R’s engine and was similarly equipped with lightweight construction and cutting-edge aerodynamics. The 300 SLR’s notable achievements include Stirling Moss’s record-breaking victory at the 1955 Mille Miglia and its overall dominance in the World Sportscar Championship. Both cars’ stories are intertwined as exemplars of Mercedes-Benz’s engineering prowess. They showcased how innovations in Formula One directly influenced success in endurance racing, further cementing the brand’s legacy in motorsport history.

Petrofact: after capturing the two world championships it competed in and winning the Mille Miglia, Mercedes withdrew from motorsport at the end of the 1955 season, following the 1955 Le Mans disaster.

2. 1938 Mercedes-Benz W 154 3-liter: the one for a (dangerous) day at the track

If Fritz Lang had made a racing movie in the ‘30s, his lead would have been this majestic Mercedes-Benz W154. Hopefully, he would have picked me as the stunt driver as I can clearly imagine myself trying to control this beauty at the Nürburgring. The W154 dominated the ’38 and ’39 Grand Prix seasons with legendary racers such as Rudolf Caracciola and Hermann Lang (no relation with the aforementioned Fritz).

It really is an iconic Grand Prix racing car that exemplifies the pinnacle of pre-war automotive engineering and performance. Built to comply with the new 3-liter engine regulations introduced in 1938, the W 154 featured a supercharged V12 engine capable of producing around 474 horsepower, a remarkable feat for its time. This powerhouse enabled the car to reach speeds exceeding 270 km/h (168 mph), making it one of the fastest race cars of the era. The W 154’s aerodynamic design, advanced suspension, and robust construction contributed to its exceptional handling and stability on the track.

Petrofact: this racer was so far ahead of its time that a decade later, it was still running at the Indy 500. And two decades later (1957!), story goes that someone tried to qualify it at Indy!

1. 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR ‘Uhlenhaut coupé’: the one to invest in

The 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR ‘Uhlenhaut’ Coupé has quite an epic story. Based on the racing 300 SLR (see #3, above), it was meant to be a street-legal production car. But after the 1955 Le Mans disaster, Mercedes-Benz cancelled all racing programs. Company chief designer and engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut, architect of both the 300 SLR racer and the hybrids, simply appropriated one of the two development cars and used it for his personal use. Hence the nickname.

The two were under the official ownership of Mercedes-Benz until 2022, when one was auctioned off for €135 million, therefore becoming the most expensive car to ever be. It was sold by RM Sotheby’s to an unknown collector at the Mercedes-Benz Museum on 5 May 2022. I won’t speculate on the happy owner. But there might be a connection with INEOS being sponsor of Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team… Nevertheless, this remarkable value reflects the car’s rarity, historical significance, and engineering excellence.

The other unit remains in the Mercedes-Benz Museum, underscoring its status as a priceless piece of automotive history. This is the one you’re seeing here in these photos and could technically be worth over $150 million. As an investment vehicle, this is to the automobile market what Nvdia is to the stock market. Which also begs the question: can its value really goes higher? I think it can. And even if it stays the same, I will have an awesomely muscular work of art to admire.

Petrofact: those straight pipes provide a clear sign that this car is loud. Legend goes that this car was partly responsible for the fact that Rudi Uhlenhaut ended up with hearing aids, later in his life…