Some of the fastest, most exhilarating, most innovative and most beautiful Mercedes-Benz cars spanning a century of motorsport took to the Goodwood Hill in glorious sunshine today.
Marking the first day of track action on the Goodwood Hill, Mercedes-Benz cars both old and new were being driven hard up the 1.16-mile route. They ranged from race-winning 1928 Mercedes SSK through to the mighty W 165 R Silver Arrow, the SL 500 rally car and the flame-spitting Sauber-Mercedes C 9 endurance racer.
The action extended to production cars, with the most extreme AMG road car yet created, the SLS AMG Black Series, making a smoky appearance on the Hill while the same car that drove from Africa to the UK on a single tank of fuel, an E 300 BlueTEC Hybrid, also debuted.
Behind the wheel were some of the greatest racers from recent times – including Dario Franchitti, Jochen Mass, Klaus Ludwig and Sir Stirling Moss.
In a poignant moment, Basil Croft, grandfather of Sky Formula One commentator David Croft, who celebrated his 100th birthday in March, was driven up the Goodwood Hill in a Mercedes Grand Prix car that won the French race in the year he was born. His driver, racing legend Jochen Mass, took him on a special run up the Goodwood Hill in the century-old racer while former Formula One racer Karl Wendlinger also took him for a ride in the 1928 SSK.
Anthony Davidson piloted a MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One car in dramatic style in front of the crowds – at the same time recording a 360 degree film that visitors to the Mercedes-Benz Exhibition stand can experience over the weekend via Oculus Rift virtual reality devices.
The action continues tomorrow as visitors to Goodwood have the chance to see some of the most diverse and exciting cars ever created in action – the Mercedes-Benz Exhibition stand hosting an array of AMG models, including the UK debut of the S-Class Coupé.
Mercedes Benz at the Goodwood Festival of Speed
Mercedes-Benz Classic Cars on the road at the Goodwood Festival of Speed
