Mercedes-Benz Classic

At the Classic Days Schloss Dyck 2015, Mercedes-Benz Classic is reawakening fond memories of the outstanding victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia.

The Luxonomist. 30/07/2015

23.04.2015_Classic Insight “Erfolgsgeschichten 1955“

At the Classic Days Schloss Dyck from 31 July to 2 August 2015, Mercedes-Benz Classic is celebrating the brand’s outstanding victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia: Exactly 60 years ago, Mercedes-Benz not only dominated the overall ranking in this legendary road race from Brescia to Rome and back with a double victory by the 300 SLR racing sports car (W 196 S), but also achieved a triple class victory for series production sports cars over 1.3 litres with the 300 SL «Gullwing» (W 198) and with the 180 D Saloon (W 120) in the diesel class.

MB540K_STRL_018 — Mercedes-Benz 540 K stream liner

Mercedes-Benz Brand Ambassadors Ellen Lohr, Roland Asch and Dieter Glemser will present the two class winners of the 1000-mile race held 60 years ago, both in the drivers’ paddock and on the track during the special Mercedes-Benz demonstration run.

67589 — Mille Miglia, Brescia in Italy, 1 May 1955. Winner in the diesel class: senior engineer Helmut Retter (Daimler-Benz representative in Innsbruck) with co-driver Wolfgang Larcher in a Mercedes-Benz Type 180 D (W 120), start number 04, at a checkpoint. / Mille Miglia, Brescia in Italy, 1 May 1955. Winners in the production sports car class: John Cooper Fitch and Kurt Gesell (start number 417) in a Mercedes-Benz Type 300 SL (W 198) touring sports car.

The success of John Cooper Fitch in the series production 300 SL is not only commemorated by the original 1955 car bearing start number 417, but also by the Gullwing-inspired «Mille Miglia 417» special edition of the current Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster (R 231).

14C309_001_ — Racing driver Ellen Lohr (third from left) with her Mercedes-Benz team mates and the Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evo II motor racing touring car in the 1993 DTM season.

Mercedes-Benz Classic is also showing another highlight by presenting the 540 K Streamliner on the orangery terrace. This innovative one-off example was built in 1938 on the based on the sporty Mercedes-Benz flagship model of the 1930s. It impresses with its dynamic appearance as the systematic implementation of scientific findings obtained in the wind tunnel.

15C54_15 — Mercedes-Benz SL Special Edition «Mille Miglia 417» 2015

The aerodynamically optimised body has an excellent drag coefficient of Cd = 0.36. This makes a cruising speed of up to 170 km/h possible – and when assisted by the supercharger the Streamliner is even capable of a 185 km/h top speed. Mercedes-Benz Classic is presenting the 540 K Streamliner as part of the concours d’élégance «Jewels in the Park».

Mille Miglia - Fr 15.5.2015 Rimini-Rom - Stirling Moss — Sir Stirling Moss at the wheel of the 300 SLR with start number 722 at the 2015 Mille Miglia, on the stretch from Rimini to Rome, 15 May 2015 in Italy.

In 2015 Sir Stirling Moss is a guest of honour at this festival for automotive classics in the park of this moated castle on the Rhine. 60 years ago Moss wrote his name indelibly in the history books of motor racing with his overall victory in the Mille Miglia, driving a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR racing sports car and achieving the best ever time in this road race of 10 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds. Together with his co-driver Denis Jenkinson, Moss led the double Mercedes-Benz victory for the 300 SLR racing sports car ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio, who was driving alone.

14C309_082 — Mercedes-Benz Classic brand ambassador Roland Asch at the Historic Trophy 2014 at the Nürburgring in June 2014.

Since the first event in 2006, the Classic Days Schloss Dyck have quickly developed into one of the highlight events in the automotive classic calendar. Mercedes-Benz Classic has actively supported this development as a committed partner from the start.

Mille Miglia - Do 14.5.2015 Brescia-Rimini - Stirling Moss — Sir Stirling Moss in his 300 SLR with start number 722 at the start of the 2015 Mille Miglia, 14 May 2015 in Brescia/Italy.

Against the backdrop of the moated Dyck Castle in the Rhineland, the Classic Days will once again offer an attractive and rewarding programme of events centred on the culture of classic vehicles. These include access to the drivers’ paddock, regularity runs by «racing legends» on the circuit around the castle and the «Classic Meeting» of the brand clubs on the large field outside the castle.

Almost 150 classic Mercedes-Benz vehicles owned by private collectors and enthusiasts are expected in the Mercedes-Benz Club area. The castle’s hospitality rooms are also exclusively available to members of the Mercedes-Benz brand clubs with reservations.

14C309_046 — Back to the future – ahead of its time: Mercedes-Benz 540 K Streamliner (W 29), 1938. Built as a one-off model in the special vehicle production unit of the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant. Following its restoration and reconstruction to the original condition, the car is brought back into the public eye by Mercedes-Benz Classic in mid-2014. The measurement in the wind tunnel in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim in May 2014 delivers a sensational drag coefficient of Cd = 0.36.

The exclusive concours d’élégance «Jewels in the Park» will take place on the museum island, where the orangery is also located. Particularly beautiful, elegant and rare vehicles will be presented here. The «Lovely Heroes» from the time of the economic miracle in the 1950s have their very own chapter in automobile history.

During the Classic Days there will also be a meeting of historic advertising vehicles under the motto «Made in Germany», and the programme is rounded off by events such as «Charm and Style» with picnics and presentations of past eras, or the classics camping event «Nostalgic Journeys».