“130 years of motorsport” is what Mercedes-Benz Classic will celebrate at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, with a glittering line-up of iconic racing cars. The event is known as the “largest motorized garden party in the world”. The race from Paris to Rouen on 22 July 1894 marked the birth of motor racing.
Mercedes 2-litre Targa Florio racing car of 1924. Driven by Mercedes-AMG racing driver George Russell at the Trofeo Bandini 2024 award ceremony in Brisighella, Italy. (Photo index number in the Mercedes-Benz Classic Archives: D835940)
Highlights
- “Largest motorized garden party in the world” from 11 to 14 July 2024
- Highlights from the entire motorsport history of Mercedes-Benz
- Elaborately restored: Original Mercedes Targa Florio racing car of 1924
- Motorsport vehicles from all eras and racing series up to the current Formula One
- Strong presence of Mercedes-AMG
This is what Mercedes-Benz Classic is bringing to the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2024
- Daimler two-cylinder V-engine (1894): The Paris-Rouen race in 1894 was the first-ever motor race. It was won by vehicles by Peugeot and Panhard & Levassor, with Daimler two-cylinder V-engines produced under license.
- Mercedes 2-litre Targa Florio racing car, 1924: 100 years ago, it won the Targa Florio – the legendary, tough road race through Sicily. Mercedes-Benz Classic has painstakingly restored an original vehicle with the utmost authenticity.
- Mercedes-Benz 750-kilogram Formula racing car W 25, 1934: The first Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow. It premiered in the 1934 Eifel race, with Manfred von Brauchitsch the winner. Rudolf Caracciola became European Grand Prix Champion in 1935, comparable to today’s F1 title.
- Mercedes-Benz Formula One racing car W 196 R, 1955: Mercedes-Benz returned to Grand Prix racing in 1954, with the W 196 R. With exposed wheels or streamlined bodywork, depending on the circuit. Juan Manuel Fangio was the Formula One World Champion in 1954 and 1955.
- Mercedes-Benz express racing car transporter, 1955: A sensational one-off. Its engine came from the 300 SL “Gullwing” (W 198). The nickname of the transporter for urgent racing car transport, capable of up to 170 km/h: “Blue Wonder”:
- Mercedes-Benz C 11 Group C racing sports car, 1990: 537 kW (730 hp), a monocoque of carbon fiber/Kevlar material, built for the 1990 Group C World Championship. The result: the C 11s secured the second double title in a row for the team and drivers.
- Mercedes-Benz GT racing car CLK LM, 1998: It won all the FIA GT Championship races in which it competed—the successor to the CLK GTR with a 5-litre V8 engine. AMG-Mercedes once again won the team and drivers’ championship.
- Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 (C 197), 2012: The successful customer sports car for the GT3 regulations, presented in 2010. The vehicle presented at Goodwood led a one-two-three victory in the 2012 Dubai 24-hour race.
The Mercedes-Benz Classic vehicles can be seen in the Ballroom Paddock – and most of them will also absolve the hill climb at a brisk pace before a large audience.
The Brand Ambassadors for Mercedes-Benz Classic at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed
Klaus Ludwig: Three-time DTM champion. He joined the AMG-Mercedes DTM team in 1989, winning two championship titles (1992 and 1994) and finishing runner-up in 1991. With Ricardo Zonta, he won the driver’s rating in the international FIA GT Championship in 1998. He was born on 5 October 1949.
Bernd Mayländer: Regular driver of the official Formula One safety car since 2000. He made his DTM and ITC debut in 1995 with an AMG-Mercedes C-Class DTM. In 1997, he competed in the FIA GT Championship with the CLK GTR. In 2001, he returned to the revamped DTM and won the final race of the season in Hockenheim. He was born on 29 May 1971.
Karl Wendlinger: With Michael Schumacher and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, he was part of the Mercedes-Benz junior team in the Group C World Championship 1990. In 1993, he moved to Formula One as a driver on Peter Sauber’s team from Switzerland. He was born on 20 December 1968.
Mercedes-AMG from Formula One to current customer sports cars
Mercedes-AMG also has a strong presence at the Festival of Speed. Two Formula One racing cars from the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One team can be seen in the Formula One paddock. In the AMG Ballroom Paddock, the performance and sports car brand from Affalterbach will be showcasing a Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the “130 Years of Motorsport Special Livery”, the Mercedes-AMG GT3 RAW SPEC jointly designed with RACE SERVICE and the track day racing car Mercedes-AMG GT2 PRO. The Mercedes-AMG SL 55 4MATIC+ and the Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology are among the vehicles on display in the First Glance Paddock, while the new Mercedes-Benz EQS is on show in the Electric Car Park.
“Horseless to Hybrid”
The Goodwood Festival of Speed is a unique stage for the culture of motorsport. It takes place at the country estate Goodwood House in Sussex, England, from 11 to 14 July 2024. The motto: “Horseless to Hybrid: Revolutions in Power”. It honors the innovative history of the automobile, and thus its invention by Carl Benz in 1886. Around 250,000 visitors are expected.
Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, His Grace the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, has organized the Festival since 1993. The focus is on racing and sports cars from the early years of automobile history to the latest innovations. Numerous sports cars can be experienced on the 1.86-kilometre-long Goodwood hill climb circuit. Sporty vehicles will also fascinate the public in the Forest Rally Stage and the Off-Road Arena.
