Staged every year in August, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is a superlative meeting of the finest automobiles from all over the world. In honor of the racing driver Sir Stirling Moss, who will attend this year’s event to be held August 13-16, 2015 in California, Mercedes-Benz Classic will be represented with the iconic 300 SLR and W 196 R from 1955, a historic year in the annals of motorsport. A rare Mercedes-Benz C 111 from the Mercedes-Benz Classic collection will round off the brand’s presence at the event.
“Our presence at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is especially in honor of Sir Stirling Moss”, said Michael Bock, Head of Mercedes-Benz Classic and Customer Center.”We’ll be there with two original vehicles from 1955 – the 300 SLR, in which the now 85-year-old racing driver won that year’s Mille Miglia, and the successful W 196 R Formula One racing car. Another highlight of Pebble Beach will be a likewise original C 111 from our collection.”
On the Thursday, August 13th, Sir Stirling Moss will open the field for the Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance in a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Gullwing” (W 198) – chauffeured by famous racing driver: Jochen Mass. His greatest triumphs include victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1989 in a Sauber-Mercedes C 9 together with Manuel Reuter and Stanley Dickens.
The C 111 will complete the Tour d’Elegance with Michael Bock at the wheel. Like the 300 SL, this sports car is a product of the Stuttgart-based brand’s distinct culture of innovation. For instance, the 300 SL standard-production sports car featured the same space frame as the original 1952 racer – and consequently also the same gullwing doors, which were dictated by the chassis concept. This design element can also be found on the futuristic-looking C 111 from 1969. This experimental vehicle was used at that time by Mercedes-Benz to study the use of innovative materials and new drive technologies. The C 111 was powered by a rotary piston engine according to the principle conceived by Felix Wankel. One example was produced with a V8 reciprocating piston engine in order to examine the potential of that technology in the high-performance sports car too – and it is precisely this vehicle that Mercedes-Benz will be sending to Pebble Beach.
Starting on the Friday, August 14th, the Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge will be open to the public. Mercedes-Benz Classic is also supporting “Legends of the Autobahn”, which is dedicated in particular to stand-out vehicles of German origin. The show will include a rare rally version of a 500 SL (R 107) from 1980, with two vehicles of customers also likely to put in an appearance – a 230 SL (W 113) from 1964 and a 300 SD (W 116) from 1980.
The highlight of the Pebble Beach Classic Car Week is the Concours d’Elegance on the Sunday, August 16th. Mercedes-Benz Classic will be there with the 300 SLR, W 196 R and C 111. The brand is traditionally represented at the Concours d’Elegance with numerous outstanding vehicles from its almost 130-year history. A prize at Pebble Beach ranks as one of the most coveted awards in the automotive world. And Mercedes-Benz has for years been one of the most successful guests at the Concours d’Elegance: the long list of “Best of Show” awards received under the Californian sun since 1950 includes several outright victories as well as more than 120 class victories and special prizes.
[Source: Daimler AG]
