Mercedes 4.5 Liter Grand Prix 1914 106 cv 180 kmh

(from Daimler Press Release) Mercedes Grand Prix racing car of 1914 recalls historic one-two-three victory of 100 years ago.
Reunited: The Mercedes Grand Prix racing car of 1914.

A further theme of this year's Concours d’Elégance is the French Grand Prix of 1914. On 4 July 1914, near Lyon, Mercedes celebrated an epic one-two-three victory – the first in the history of Grand Prix racing. The three examples of this stunning racing car still in existence will be shown in a specially created judging class, including the winning vehicle from 1914. The Grand Prix cars, all of which are in full running order, come from the collections of George Wingard, the Collier Collection and the Mercedes-Benz Classic collection.

On July 14, 1914 Mercedes celebrated a triumphant one-two-three victory in the French Grand Prix. The race was held over an extremely challenging 37.6-kilometer circuit to the south of Lyon, covering 20 laps and a total distance of around 750 kilometers. The Mercedes team redesigned the car to comply with a new regulation limiting displacement to 4.5 liters. Built with a systematic approach to lightweight design and to withstand engine speeds of more than 300 rpm, its four-cylinder technology made the engine both powerful and, at the same time, superbly efficient. Although Mercedes competed against supposedly superior adversaries – above all Peugeot and Delage from France, Sunbeam from England and Fiat from Italy – after 7 hours, Christian Lautenschlager, Louis Wagner and Otto Salzer had made their way right to the front. This first one-two-three "triple" victory in the history of motor racing was reported in the English magazine "Autocar" as follows: "The Mercedes victory was a victory that showed them to be superior in every respect". The French press wrote: "There can really be no greater achievement than this." Less than four weeks after the team's triumphant victory the First World War broke out, marking the end of motorsport in Europefor the foreseeable future.

Technical data
Period of use: 1914-1924
Cylinders: 4/in-line
Displacement: 4483 cubic centimetres
Output: 78 kW (106 hp)
Top speed: 180 km/h

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