The latest issue of Classic Driver features an absolutely fabulous article by Tony Dron about his experience driving the legendary Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow Grand Prix car around Donington Park during the 2008 SeeRed race days. Dron is an experienced vintage competitor but he'd never set foot (an accomplishment in itself!) in the W154 before and considering that it's a priceless pre-war racer brought over from the Mercedes Museum in Germany, the responsibility must have been as scary as that 12-cylinder engine putting out 585 hp on skinny tires. He writes of the noise – "equivalent to an entire grid of more humble race machines" – and the exotic exhaust smell – "that persistent scent of almonds, drifting across the Derbyshire countryside (mostly methanol)." In 1939, the W154's dual fuel tanks held up to 111 gallons of fuel: consumption was just over two miles per gallon. Dron reminds us that it was used for hillclimbing in 1939 and that Fangio raced the car in Argentina in 1951. Be sure to read his comments about the unusual pedal layout and the odd shift pattern of the 5-speed gearbox.
[Photo credit: Jim Houlgrave]