Approaching the corner at the end of the main straight on the Mercedes-Benz Untertürkheim test track, near Stuttgart, we briefly witness 130kph. Lifting off, the supercharger's banshee howl abates, giving a brief moment of quiet serenity before the quick, dreadful realisation that the rod-actuated drum brakes aren't as up to the task of shedding speed as convincingly the supercharged 7-litre straight-six engine is at gaining it.
We're not on the full, high-speed test track today, the famous banked corner at the top end is closed (though we did manage to get a few shots on there earlier with a member of the Mercedes-Benz team driving), but even this shorter track is quite enough to get an idea of just how heroic - or, more likely, unhinged - racing drivers were in the 1930s. Alongside the straight that we've just driven along, behind high fencing to hide Mercedes-Benz's modern prototypes from view, are the grounds for Stuttgart's American football team, named The Silver Arrows - which is somewhat fitting, given the car I'm driving today.
It's a Mercedes-Benz SSKL, albeit one wearing an unpainted, streamlined body. This machine, built on a genuine 1931 chassis, is an exact recreation of the car with which privateer racer Manfred von Brauchitsch arrived at the 1932 Avusrennen in Berlin. It still looks unusual today, but back in 1932 it must have appeared other-worldly, its unique, hand-shaped bodywork marking a significant departure from the conventional SSKL.
Esta historia es de la edición August 2023 de Classic & Sports Car.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición August 2023 de Classic & Sports Car.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Mick WALSH
'Had someone said that this worn-looking titan would win the most famous old-car event, we would have laughed'
ALFA ROMEO STELVIO QF
Rewriting the rulebook on what an SUV can do, and how it can make you feel
FLOATING INTO THE FUTURE
Citroën's DS-replacing CX was at a cutting edge so sharp it still looks fresh today, and it had the drive to match - as five superb survivors reveal
"It's a car for posing in really"
Broadcaster Michael Buerk reflects on more than three decades with his beloved Jaguar E-type S1 3.8 fixed-head coupé
HONDAS DECK THE HALL
The Japanese firm's Los Angeles collection is now on public display for the first time in two decades
ABSOLUTELY buzzing
Honda's Si Civics brought agile, cheap fun to motorists long before the Type R name got anywhere near a hatchback
THE FEMININE TOUCH
In 1955, General Motors styling guru Harley Earl brought 11 talented women into the male-dominated world of automotive design. What was their lasting impact?
Out on a limb
Panther's innovative Solo 2 was something completely different, both for its maker and the sports car market
Restyles with substance
Panther Westwinds blended a passion for pre-war designs with modern-era mechanical usability and remarkably fine coachbuilding
Dead ringers
The Maserati Kyalami and De Tomaso Longchamp share much, having emerged from the same stable, but are poles apart at heart