Mercedes-Benz Racing Car Books - History and Models

Silver Arrows - The Story of Mercedes-Benz in Motor Sport

Lewis Hamilton's record-breaking achievements in F1 are the latest successes in a glorious motor sport record for Mercedes and Benz that stretches back to the very first races in the 1890s. F
Or the first time, this book tells the story of Mercedes in motor sport from the very beginning, with those pioneers of the 19th century, right through to today's hybrid F1 cars. It covers the triumphs and disasters, from the early Grand Prix machines and the extraordinarily advanced and massively powerful racers of the 1930s to the highs of F1, Le Mans and Mille Miglia glory and the sorrow of the 1955 Le Mans disaster.

The story is brought right up to date, tracing Mercedes victories in sports car racing, Indycar, F1 and Formula E - and this book celebrates the achievements of some of the world's greatest drivers, from Caracciola, Fangio and Moss to Hakkinen, Unser and Hamilton.

Mercedes and Auto Racing in the Belle Epoque, 1895-1915

The history of the Mercedes provides the thread for this book that narrates the early history of automobile racing. The sport had its origins in Paris, and French marques and the Automobile Club de France dominated the early scene.
But in 1901 a foreign troublemaker emerged, the Mercedes. This German machine was to play a leading role, its career and evolution becoming an image of the whole period. The individuals who built and drove these early racers laid the foundation of a new industry, conceived the modern, high-performance engine, and gave magic to a series of thrilling races.

This richly illustrated history answers many questions from this time. Early chapters discuss the marketing of the original Daimler engine in France, the influence of Emil Jellinek and Wilhelm Maybach, and the great town-to-town and Gordon Bennett races.
Later chapters focus on the French Grand Prix, the great crisis of 1909, the voiturette movement, the Mercedes and Benz successes in America, and the role of Ernest Henry in the development of the revolutionary Peugeot. Final chapters describe the career of the 4.5-litre Mercedes and its impact on future designs.

The Incredible Blitzen Benz - Mighty Machines from Mannheim

One of the most evocative names ever bestowed on an automobile, "Blitzen Benz" came to express the ultimate in power and speed. The car itself, with its sharp-tailed body, aggressively beaked radiator and colossal exhaust pipes, still stands as an unrivaled icon of velocity on land.

Karl Ludvigsen weaves an engrossing saga of the men and machines of the era covering:
- founder Karl Benz and why he was not keen on racing;
- a talented Belgian who designed a great German engine;
- how a choleric and driven French racer inspired the first 200 PS Benz;
- stunning new world records set in 1909 and 1910;
- marrying the Benz with American racing hero Barney Oldfield;
- and, why the four-passenger model was fastest of all the Benzes at Brooklands;
- rare period images bring the Blitzen's exploits to life;
- shattering records with "Wild Bob" Burman;
- and, record-breaking at Brooklands with a stove-pipe exhaust.

In his work, Ludvigsen clarifies for the first time the tangled careers of these great cars. He concludes his narrative with the exciting revival of several of the Type RE Benzes, alive again to give a hint of the immortal achievements that made these the most daunting and respected racing cars of their time.

Mercedes Benz Grand Prix W196: Spectacular Silver Arrows 1954-1955

Few racing cars have had the sensational impact of the W196 introduced by Mercedes-Benz in the French Grand Prix on July 4, 1954. It was a feast of exotic features from its streamlined bodywork and direct fuel injection to its inboard brakes and valve-spring-free straight-eight engine.

The W196 scored a one-two debut triumph 40 years to the day after a one-two-three victory by Mercedes in the same event. Its two seasons, 1954 and '55, took iconic Argentinean driver Juan Manuel Fangio to his second and third world championships against strong competition from Ferrari and Maserati. Stirling Moss, Hermann Lang, Piero Taruffi and Karl Kling were other drivers of these post-war Silver Arrows in epic contests at Monaco, Monza, Zandvoort, Silverstone, the Nurburgring and other classic tracks.

Rare and dramatic images from the world-famed Ludvigsen Library evoke the drama of the W's races under the direction of burly team manager Alfred Neubauer, while Karl Ludvigsen's intimate introduction and insightful captions take the reader inside these amazing cars and their creators.

Two Summers : The Mercedes-Benz W196R Racing Car

A fresh, revealing and highly personal window into the culture of Grand Prix racing as it was during the 1954 and 1955 championships. The core of this book is devoted to individual portraits of the twelve races that comprised the 1954-55 seasons in which the W196R participated. Of those races, Fangio won seven and Moss won two.

With its carefully-crafted observations and conclusions, given added drama by its richly-detailed illustrations, there are numerous examples of the energy and dynamic nature of these racing seasons - not the least being abundant evidence that Fangio was indeed the ultimate master of the art and science of racing a Grand Prix automobile, and that the W196R was the instrument with which he honed his skills.

This book captures the decisive moments when victory - hanging in the balance - was tilted towards Fangio by his own steady hand on the wheel and iron discipline.
The W196R's racing days may be long gone, but it remains a shining star of Mercedes-Benz' participation in motor sport heritage events world wide.
It's this timeless appeal of the W196R that gives this book its vitality, charm and enduring attraction.

Mercedes-Benz CLR

The unfortunately inglorious history of this very beautiful race car during his performance at the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1999 made it quite foreseeable that the author would not be supported by the vehicle's manufacturer. However, other potential external sources, such as the people responsible at the time, the responsible motorsport associations, and even the manufacturers of the relevant model cars, showed only a deafening silence, too.

In the course of more than five years of research into his reference book, the author Martin Mahle has finally gathered all available information, without any support. The final result is a richly illustrated work, which impressively documents the genesis, the appearance at Le Mans, the reasons for its failure and the rapid disappearance of this unique Le Mans Grand Touring Prototype racing car.

Mercedes-Benz Renn- und Sportwagen - seit 1894

Auch wenn Mercedes-Benz heute wohl am ehesten für seine Pkws der Premium-Klasse bekannt sein dürfte, geniessen die Schwaben doch einen exzellenten Ruf im Motorsport. Den verdanken sie nicht nur längst vergangenen Zeiten, als sie mit ihren Silberpfeilen (gemeinsam mit der Auto Union) den Motorsport nahezu nach Belieben dominierten oder mit dem 300 SL Le Mans und mit dem 300 SLR die Mille Miglia gewannen.

In jüngerer Zeit feierte man gemeinsam mit McLaren Erfolge in der Formel 1. Aktuell schicken sich die Stuttgarter an, mit Schumacher und Rosberg in neuen Silberpfeilen die Formel 1-Saison 2011 aufzumischen.
Höchste Zeit also für ein Buch über alle Renn- und Sportwagen von Mercedes-Benz seit 1894, zumal eines aus solch berufener Feder.

Sternstunden - 60 Jahre - Die Mercedes Formel 1 - Erfolgsstory

Manchmal genügt ein Rennen, eine geniale Runde, ein fantastisches Überholmanöver, ein Manöver, um in die Ruhmeshalle des Motorsports einzuziehen - schlicht ein Rennen zur Unsterblichkeit. Die Geschichte von Mercedes in der Formel 1 ist reich an solchen Momenten und die Saison 2014 war die vorläufige Krönung des fantastischen Griffes nach den Sternen.

Michael Schmid blickt in diesem wunderbaren und einmaligen Buch zurück auf sechs Jahrzehnte Mercedes-Motorsport in der Königsklasse, erinnert an die legendären Fahrzeuge, die grössten Fahrer und die spektakulärsten Rennen.