Mercedes-Benz Displays Five Iconic Racing Cars at the Rétromobile 2014

This year, Mercedes-Benz celebrates 120 years of motor sport, which is the reason why the carmaker will display five original race cars and one Daimler engine at the Rétromobile 2014 (February 5-9) in Paris.

Focusing on the historic successes achieved by Mercedes-Benz in France, the carmaker’s booth will include iconic cars including the Mercedes Grand Prix racing car (1914), Mercedes-Benz W 196 R “Streamliner” (1954), Sauber-Mercedes C 9 (1989), McLaren Mercedes MP4-15 (2000) and Mercedes-Benz DTM C-Class (2009).

Besides these cars, Mercedes-Benz will also showcase the Daimler two-cylinder V-engine from 1894, which had a major role in motor sport’s first winning vehicles 120 years ago. Built under license in France, the “Moteur système Daimler” propelled cars from Peugeot and Panhard & Levassor to victory in the Paris–Rouen and Paris–Bordeaux–Paris motor races.

The Mercedes Grand Prix racing car from 1914 achieved the first one-two-three victory in the history of motor sport in the French Grand Prix in Lyon, while the W 196 R “Streamliner” marked the Silver Arrows’ return after the Second World War with a double victory in the 1954 French Grand Prix in Reims.

Following the horrific Le Mans crash in 1955, Mercedes-Benz withdrew from racing, but in 1989, it supplied engines to the Sauber-Mercedes C9 that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The fourth Mercedes exhibit at the Rétromobile 2014 is the McLaren Mercedes MP4-15, the Formula One car in which David Coulthard won the French Grand Prix in 2000. Finally, the Mercedes-Benz DTM C-Class was the winning vehicle in the 2009 DTM race at Dijon-Prenois in the hands of driver Gary Paffett.