“Mercedes-Benz Renn- und Sportwagen seit 1894” (Mercedes-Benz Racing Cars and Sports Cars since 1894) is the title of the latest book documenting the vehicle history of the brand with the three-pointed star. Written by automotive historian Günter Engelen, it is the latest in a series of standard works by the author on Mercedes-Benz. Published by Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart, the reference work contains 680 richly-illustrated pages and costs 69 euros.

The book features the entire range of racing and sports cars built by Mercedes-Benz and its predecessor brands and used in motorsport from 1894 onwards. The author describes cars from every era, beginning with the very early years, and depicts in impressive detail the company’s approaches to racing car development and competitive success. The book features not only the most celebrated vehicles but also pays special attention to those mentioned only fleetingly in previously published works, such as the rally and off-road sports cars of the 1920s and 30s.

The eras following the Second World War are also given comprehensive treatment, beginning with the brand’s return to motorsport in 1952 and the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL racing sport coupé. The author gives a detailed account of the background and development of the early post-war Silver Arrows from the 1954 and 1955 seasons. He also provides an interesting and rare insight into the rally vehicles used before 1980. We are brought into the modern era with chapters covering DTM vehicles, the record-breaking drives of the C 111, Group C and GT motor racing, before our attention is turned to an analysis of the Silver Arrows from the most recent history of Formula One and finally the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 race car. The book concludes with a list of brief biographies of the main personalities and developers.