ADAC Eifelrennen, Le Mans Classic or Goodwood Festival of Speed – for Mercedes-Benz Classic the 2010 season is all about super sports cars. And this year’s technical preparations were in the hands of some distinguished guests. Six drivers demonstrated the capabilities of these historic jewels during a track test around the test circuit at the Untertürkheim plant:

• 40 hp Mercedes Simplex, 1902. Driven by Jochen Mass.
• Mercedes-Benz SSK, 1929. Driven by Roland Asch.
• Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupé, 1955. Driven by Hans Herrmann.
• Mercedes-Benz C 111 II-D, 1976. Driven by Nick Heidfeld.
• Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Roadster, 2002. Driven by Dieter Glemser.
• Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, 2010. Driven by Bernd Schneider.

The ranks of super sports cars from Mercedes-Benz include vehicles from the recent past such as the CLK-GTR of 1998 and the CLK DTM AMG that appeared in 2004. This segment also saw the market launch in 2004 of the Mercedes-Benz SLR
McLaren. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG continues the fascinating tradition of super sports cars in 2010.

Historic icons include the 300 SL and SSK models. But the history goes back further still. The great-grandfather of the super sports car chronology is considered the 35 hp Mercedes. This car dominated the races of Nice Week in 1901, and was followed a year later by its successor model, the 40 hp Mercedes Simplex. Both these models were bought by customers as regular road-going vehicles, as was the
60 hp Mercedes Simplex, which in 1903 achieved similarly significant motor racing successes.