Mercedes-Benz celebrates 130 years of motorsport at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2024

130 years of motorsport: this is the anniversary that Mercedes-Benz Classic is celebrating at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, with a glittering line-up of iconic racing cars. The event is known as the “largest motorised garden party in the world”.

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 licence.
• 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. 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 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). 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 fibre/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 car 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.

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, this year from 11 to 14 July 2024. The motto: “Horseless to Hybrid: Revolutions in Power”. It honours 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 been organising 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.