Mercedes and Benz both enjoyed significant success as separate firms during the early days of motor racing. Their merger in 1926 created an industrial behemoth. When Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party…
Read MoreAlthough Porsche had scored some impressive results with the aluminium-bodied 356 SL (perhaps the most notable of which had been back-to-back class wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1951 and ‘52…
Read MoreBy the autumn of 1951 Porsche’s fortunes had been transformed. When 356 production began in 1949, it did so at a converted Austrian sawmill because the firm’s Zuffenhausen plant in Stuttgart…
Read MoreAt the Paris Motor Show in October 1950, Porsche management held a meeting with American car dealer, Max Hoffman. Hoffman was already the Volkswagen and Jaguar distributor for North America…
Read MoreTo complement the wild Gullwing-doored W198 300 SL, Mercedes-Benz offered a less expensive two-seat Convertible for touring and utility use. Whereas the advanced 300 SL was arguably the…
Read MoreBMW started life as a builder of aircraft engines in 1913. After World War 1, the company remained in business by producing motorcycle engines, farm equipment, domestic items and railway…
Read MoreBy the mid 1950s, two-seat roadsters were so popular that Mercedes-Benz set about creating an open top version of the 300 SL as soon as the original Gullwing coupe had gone into production.
Read MoreFollowing a 13-year absence owing to the onset of World War 2 and subsequent need to get the company back on a firm financial footing, Mercedes-Benz finally returned to top flight motor…
Read MoreSince its 1948 introduction, the Porsche 356 had proved a runaway success. Ferry Porsche had originally anticipated a production run of 500 would satisfy demand but, by late 1959, over 30,000…
Read MoreAfter Porsche moved its operations back to Stuttgart in the winter of 1949-1950, sales of the newly productionised 356 soared. The company had relocated to the remote Austrian village of Gmund in…
Read MoreFaced with relentless Allied bombing raids, Porsche moved from Zuffenhausen in Stuttgart to the remote Austrian town of Gmund during 1944. However, the extremely cramped facility (an old…
Read MoreFerry Porsche’s first chassis drawings for the 356 were laid down in July 1947. At this point, his father, Ferdinand, and brother-in-law, Anton Piech, were still imprisoned for war crimes. In…
Read MoreMercedes-Benz returned to motor racing in 1952 with the W194 300 SL. This three-litre sports racing car proved an enormous success and won four of the five races it contested to include the Le Mans…
Read MoreIn 1955, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a high-speed racing car transporter, the like of which had never been seen before. Nicknamed Blue Wonder, it was built at the request of Mercedes’ racing team…
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