Mercedes Sending 4 Race Cars to Goodwood Festival

The Goodwood Festival of Speed from June 28 to July 1 has become one of the premiere events in the world for fans of classic cars. This year MercedesMercedes-BenzGermany, 1924 > present197 models
9852 photos
33 videos
is sending four classic race cars up with 1.86km long Goodwood hillclimb. 

Mercedes is entering the 1937 W125 race carMercedes-Benz W125 Motort...Germany, 1937 > 19371 photo
, 1952 W194 300SLMercedes-Benz 300 SL Comp...Germany, 1952 > 19523 photos
, 1963 220SE W111Mercedes-Benz 220 SEGermany, 1959 > 19652 photos
and a 1997 CLK-GTRMercedes-Benz CLK-GTRGermany, 1997 > present2 photos
with 600hp. Klaus Ludwig, Jochen Mass and Bernd Schneider will be driving the cars up the hill.

The W125 Mercedes was built by Rudolf Uhlenhaut for the 1937 racing season. The frame was made from nickel-chrome-molybdenum steel, and it was about three times more stiff than its predecessor, the W25. The car used a supercharged, inline-8 engine with 600hp. It won six times in 12 races. It took 1-2-3 victories in two races. 

The 1952 W194 300SL was born on June 15, 1951 when Mercedes began building planning a 3.0l sports car. The first prototype was tested in 1952. It used a tubular frame that did not allow for conventional doors; so designer Rudolf Uhlenhaut added gullwing doors. Power came from a 3.0l inline-six engine with 170hp. It took second place in its debut race at the Mille Miglia and took first and second in the Carrera Panamericana that year. The car that will be entered in the Goodwood hilclimb won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1952. 

The 300SL is a fantastically iconic race car

© photo courtesy of: Mercedes-Benz

The 1963 W111 220SE has a 2.1l inline-six engine with 120hp. The car at Goodwood was built in 1963 but was remodeled in 2011 by the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center as a classic racer. It is meant both as a modern, safe race car and as an example of what a period-correct racing-prepped 220SE would have been like. 

For 1997, Mercedes developed the CLK-GTR for the FIA GT Championships that began that year. It used a 6.0l, V12 with 600hp. Due to series rules, it did not have ABS, traction control or active suspension. Mercedes also built 25 street versions of the car that cost 3,074,000 Deutsch Marks, the modern equivalent of €1,571,711, and was the most expensive production car in the world at the time. The team won the GT1 championship in 1997 and 1998. 

The Festival of Speed began in 1993 and was organized by Charles Gordon-Lennox, Earl of March and Kinrara. His grandfather Freddie March, Earl of March and 9th Duke of Richmond, was a car designer, engineer and racer. He organized the first races at the Goodwood estate in 1936.

This year the slogan for the event is “Young Guns – Born to Win," and there is always an automotive-themed art installation by Gerry Judah at the entrance to the race. This year's art piece has not yet been announced. It is a very fan-friendly event with the pits open to visitors.