IT'S SIGNIFICANT that my passenger is Marcus Breitschwerdt. Not only because he is the boss of the Mercedes-Benz Museum, but because, as he says himself: 'I am the son of an engineer, the brother of an engineer - and a nephew of an engineer.' His uncle was the late Werner Breitschwerdt, a key member of the team that developed the Mercedes-Benz 600 and who went on in 1983 to become Chairman of the Board of Management of the whole company. 'We wanted to build a car that could do everything that was possible, and we wanted it to be able to do more than any other car, for the driver and the passenger,' he said of the 600, shortly before he stepped down from that role in the late 1980s.
Marcus Breitschwerdt displays equally obvious pride. It has a 250bhp V8, so it was as fast as a Porsche 911 yet also capable of carrying passengers in great comfort. It has power-assisted brakes, with dual calipers, so you can drive it quickly because you can also slow down in a short distance. There is air suspension, and high-pressure hydraulics move the windows, the seats, even the boot-lid. It was built for a very long life, so it is very strong and very safe.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2023 من Octane.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2023 من Octane.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Will China Change Everything? - China is tearing up modern motor manufacture but is yet to make more than a ripple in the classic car world. That could be about to change dramatically
China now dominates the automotive world in a way even Detroit in its heyday would have struggled to comprehend.Helped by Government incentives, the new car world is dominated by China's industries: whether full cars that undercut Western models by huge amounts, ownership of storied European brands such as Lotus and Volvo, or ownership and access to the vast majority of raw materials that go into EV cars, its influence is far-reaching and deep. However, this automotive enlightenment hasn't manifested itself in the classic world in any meaningful way - until now.
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