Sicilian adventure: Christian Lautenschlager (left) and his co-driver Wilhelm Traub in the Targa Florio 1924. They finished 10th overall and 2nd in their class.
Image: Mercedes-Benz Classic Archive
The Targa Florio racing cars from 1924 are among the famous ancestors of the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows. Elaborate restoration brings the century-old technology to life.
Dhe audience sees red as the winner of the 1924 Targa Florio crosses the finish line under the Sicilian sun. And no, that's not because of racing driver Christian Werner, who became the first non-Italian driver to win the road race 100 years ago on April 27th. Rather, it is due to the paint of his Mercedes 2-liter racing car with a four-cylinder supercharged engine: it is not painted in the usual German racing color of white, but in a red associated with Italian teams.
Mercedes sent four of the new racing cars to the island. The journey took place on our own – unimaginable today in today’s busy racing environment. Three of the vehicles started and ensured a brilliant success: Werner secured overall victory in both the Targa Florio (four laps of 108 kilometers each) and the Coppa Florio (another lap had to be driven for this classification). In addition, the three Mercedes racing cars with starting numbers 10 (Werner), 32 (Christian Lautenschlager, 10th place) and 23 (Alfred Neubauer, 15th place) achieved a triple class victory. For this, Mercedes was awarded the Coppa Termini as the best company team.
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