The “red” Mercedes winner of the Targa Florio returns to its former glory

Mercedesafter a long restoration, and 100 years later, he brings a racing car to the road that allowed him an amazing “hat-trick” in fifteen. Targa Florio.
It was April 27, 1924 when Christian Werner, while on a Mercedes “Compressor”, won the Sicilian competition with a time of 6 hours 32 minutes and 37 seconds. Second and third, in the same class with sister cars, were drivers Christian Lautenschlager and Alfred Neubauer. At the same time as “Targa”, Werner won the Coppa Florio with the fastest lap (108 km) in one hour and thirty-five minutes.
In the early 1920s, A’ Cursa, as the Targa was called by the Sicilians, was considered the most challenging competition in Europe. The Targa gave German manufacturers an important opportunity because, after the First World War, they had previously been excluded from participating in the European Grand Prix. In Sicily Mercedes finished second overall in 1921, the following year it won driven by a privateer.

In 1924 from Stuttgart they sent a car to Sicily which was based on the designs of Paul Daimler and was made by Ferdinand Porsche, who was the technical director and development manager of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft.
To reach the end of the Targa you had to drive through 7000 curves: four laps of the “middle” Madonie track. Five rounds were arranged to win another coveted trophy: the Coppa Florio. Conflicts, accidents and various unexpected events caused pilots and mechanics to suffer.
The red Mercedes Kompressor was powered by a 2 liter engine, two overhead camshafts driven by a vertical shaft and four valve technology with the spark plug located in the center of the cylinder for the first time.
The then Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) took a historic hat-trick.

The telegram in which the team presented the results to their country is preserved in the archives of Stuttgart: “Overall results Werner has won the Targa and the Coppa Florio, as well as the Coppa Caltavuturo for the best time to reach this destination, as well as the Coppa Villa Igiea for the lap of record, as well as the main gold medal from the King of Italy and ditto Motor Club Sicilia, with all the prizes provided by the Palermo Chamber of Commerce STOP Class results Werner first, Lautenschlager second, Neubauer third, the Mercedes team wins the Coppa Termini for the best team “.

100 years after the victory in the legendary Targa Florio, Mercedes-Benz Classic has restored a car from its collection according to the highest standards of authenticity. The “red” German will tour major international events in 2024.
“In 1924 – explains Marcus Breitschwerdt, Head of Mercedes-Benz Assets – with this incredible racing car, the House of the Star made motorsport history. A century later, the car can be seen again in action in its original state , which means that Mercedes-Benz Classic is making history Because something like this is only possible with the combined expertise of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center, the Mercedes-Benz Classic Archive and a strong network of experts the company is visible, from its origins in 1886 to the future .”