Automotive historian discusses Mercedes-Benz's Silver Arrow racing cars at Studebaker
SOUTH BEND — The Studebaker National Museum presents “The Birth of the Silver Arrows: Mercedes-Benz Racing” at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at 897 Thomas St.
The racing cars of Mercedes-Benz have been known as the “Silver Arrows” (Silberpfeile) since the 1930s in the years immediately preceding the Second World War.
Along with the racing cars of the Auto Union company, the silvery-liveried German machines of the two companies dominated Grand Prix racing from 1934 to 1939.
Back home again: Studebaker National Museum purchases race car built for the Indy 500
After World War II, Mercedes-Benz once again returned to racing with a new generation of Silver Arrows in 1954 and 1955. In recent years, the Mercedes Formula 1 team has won six world championships in a row, from 2014 to 2019, also using a livery that is basically silver.
But how and why the Silver Arrows of the 1930s came into being has often been attributed to an incident that occurred during the weigh-in for the Eifelrennen (Eifel Race) at the Nűrburgring in June 1934.
For many years, the account given by the manager of the Mercedes-Benz racing team, Alfred Neubauer, was accepted at face value and repeated in books and magazines.
In recent years, some have challenged this account, and the Mercedes-Benz Heritage Information Center held a symposium in July 2007 at the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Fellbach, Germany, to discuss this issue.
For this presentation, preeminent automotive historian Col. H. Donald Capps U.S. Army, Retired, will take the audience through this fascinating story and explore whether or not there is truth in the famous story or there is more to the story than meets the eye.
Admission $2; free for members.
For more information, call 574-235-9714 or visit studebakermuseum.org.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Mercedes-Benz racing cars topic of talk at Studebaker museum
