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Manfred von Brauchitsch was noted for his red helmet and his bad luck, losing several grand prix he was on the verge of winning and Tazio Nuvolari had been there to steal some of those victories from him. and Sept. 3, 1939, was no exception. Von Brauchitsch would have the fastest lap time in his Mercedes Benz W154 Silver Arrow, but would again come in second to Nuvolari in his Porsche, losing by only seconds.
German auto engineering had been preeminent in racing circles since 1934, establishing world records and dominating the Grand Prix circuit. The rivals seemed unstoppable, but world affairs were soon to overtake the sport. Only two days before von Brauchitsch lost at Belgrade, the Nazi Army had rolled into Poland, ushering in World War II. The racing season ended with the advent of war and his mighty machine fell silent for much of the next 70 years.
Tuesday that car roared-quite literally-to life again, taking its first lap around a race track in seven decades when the restored vehicle was brought to Lime Rock Park in Salisbury for the 27th annual Vintage Festival. The Festival begins today [Friday] and continues through Labor Day but the vintage Mercedes Benz Silver Arrow was unveiled for the press Tuesday. It was driven round the track three times by Mercedes Benz engineer Gurt Steriub, who gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.
Mr. Steriub was one of two engineers from Mercedes-Benz flown in from Germany, along with U.K.-based vintage racecar engine specialist Dick Crossthwaite, to assist technicians of the current owner in getting the engine started.
Mr. Steriub said that there were only 15 Silver Arrows produced during the glory years between 1934 and 1939, when the model won 11 of the 16 Grand Prix in which it ran in 1938 and 1939. The Belgrade Grand Prix car was the last W154 built before the end of European motorsport in 1939. Immediately after the race, two W 154s were shipped to Austria for safe keeping, where they were discovered toward the end of the war by Soviet soldiers.
It is perhaps illustrative of the priorities of the closing months of the war that the priceless cars were first loaded on a railway boxcar for shipment to Russia, but were later traded by hungry soldiers for food in Romania. The cars remained there for many years, where No. 15 eventually found its way into the hands of a local collector. That man used it in a hill climb in the late 1940s, during which it crashed and burned.
The damaged car remained in the same family for years before it was purchased by casino magnet Bill Harrah and was brought out of Romania for restoration. He added the vehicle to his own extensive collection and it remained there until being purchased by the Collier Collection of Naples, Fla. The car has undergone another round of extensive restoration in the past two years under the guidance of the Mercedes Benz Company, with its motor being rebuilt by Crossthwaite & Gardiner in England and body work by premier restorer Paul Russelof Essex, Mass.
The result of this restoration was unveiled amidst an atmosphere of intense anticipation at Lime Rock Park Tuesday. A select group of media personnel and racing aficionados pressed around the precious car as it was carefully rolled out of its transport trailer. Its technicians gently moved it into place and began to fine-tune the motor. The body was heavily draped with towels before gas was carefully poured into a spout to fuel it, one crew member guarding the lip of the spout with his hand to guard against back splash. Enthusiasts pushed near the car, pressing cameras forward to record minute details of grillwork and design.
Immense care was taken before the car's engine was turned over, but when the vehicle eventually growled to life, the crowd stepped back, many clapping hands over ears against the unexpected assault of noise.
"This is an extraordinary artifact," said Murray Smith of Washington, Conn., who organizes the Vintage Festival at Lime Rock Park and who was instrumental in bringing the rare vehicle to the Northwest Corner. "This is a very tricky, sophisticated car to run," he added as he watched the technicians tinker before it was started. "In 1937, they could reach 240 miles an hour and the average track speed was 172 miles per hour."
At those speeds, with a 500 horsepower V12 engine and a 750 kg limit on vehicle weight, the economy conscious could not expect much in terms of gas mileage. Mr. Smith revealed that the W154 averaged only 1.5 miles per gallon.
Racing is a dangerous business at any time and it was even more dangerous in the days before restraining harnesses, space-age head protection and fire-retardant racing suits. The driver of the 1939 Silver Arrow sat between two gas tanks, fore and aft, that were designed to evenly distribute the weight but that could provide instant immolation in the case of a bad crash. One hundred gallons of highly volatile gas mixtures surrounded the racers on 300-mile races, the cars stopping twice for refueling. "They ran these on really exotic mixtures back then that were carcinogenic," Mr. Smith said, "but no one cared."
He pointed to the car's tires. Although the W154 had better traction than earlier models, the narrow, hard tires were more apt to slip than modern racing slicks. As a final aside, Mr. Smith said that white was the official Mercedes Benz color, but to reduce weight on this series, all the paint was scraped off. "That was why it was called the Silver Arrow," he said. "Of course, now they are painted."
Mr. Smith had hoped to be able to drive the car that he said was worth "millions and millions," but his hopes were not realized Tuesday and only Mr. Steriub took it out for a spin. Mr. Smith said the goal was not to see what kind of speed the septuagenarian motorcar had, but to restore it to a race track one more time. "It's too valuable, too special, to go fast," he said. "You don't know what might go wrong."
The car will get a second moment in the sun Monday when it leads the parade of vintage cars expected to gather at the track.
The Vintage Festival promises to be one of the biggest ever, according to track officials, with at least 100 more cars than last year entered in the race groups; For the first time, there will be "enduro" races, with pit stops and driver changes, rare for vintage racing events. The "Sunday in the Park" car show is to be huge, according to LRP spokesman Rick Roso, and a live band, food, drink and a golf cart ride back to cars in the parking lot will add to visitors' pleasure. A swap meet will fill the B Paddock, and there will be Kid Karting on the Midway, complimentary of Paddock Tours. Racing author Burt Levy ("The Last Open Road," "Montezuma's Ferrari," "Toly's Ghost" and others) will be signing books near the Driving Impressions racing store.
Parking is free, camping free and kids ages 12 and under are admitted free. For tickets, go to www.limerock.com, or call 800-722-3577.
