The finished racing car’s initial start attempts were promising. After slight adjustments had been made to the ignition, carburetor, and oil lubrication, the vehicle was able to successfully complete its maiden trip on a first test run at the Untertürkheim plant’s own test track.

Then, on July 7, 2008, the time had come – exactly 100 years after Christian Lautenschlager’s triumph, the newly built Mercedes GP racing car completed the 78-km, historic Dieppe circuit on the French Atlantic coast. The legend lives on.