INFORMATION - 1930's MERCEDES BENZ - SILVER ARROW

It appears to be a 1937 W125 Grand Prix car. At least one of these cars came out from behind the Iron Curtain in the 1960s-1970s. I am sure other M-B experts can tell you more.

 

I do not know it is the exact same car but google for: Jochen Mass Mercedes W125.
Exact same modell.

 

Contact Mercedes Classic Center in Irvine.....

 

Send scans of the photos to automotive historian and author Doug Nye. He has an astounding encyclopedic knowledge of historic cars and a vast collection of photos, books, and other material. His email address is [email protected].

 

I am sure it is an interesting period during that cars survival in a very tumultuous time. It is a wonder so many of its kind survived.

In the background of one shot there is what looks to be a Benz with vertical dual headlights. Poor picture quality for that time. Maybe a shot of a Mercedes storage area in the 60's with a cheap camera?

No help but I hope you find out.

 

When Germany fell, a lot of them went back into Russia as war loot.

They have been found with engines hack sawed open, for mechanical investigation, and hidden in pieces stashed all over ...
Recently one or two were spirited back out, and restored.

Interesting photo

 

There was only ever one privately owned Mercedes Benz W125 that came out of eastern europe, ex Colin Crabbe, Neil Corner, Hayashi in Japan, Ecclestone and since 2014 is in Germany...... And considering the state of the bonnet/ hood I would suggest it would be a good candidate for the car in the photo

 

If this is the same car and pic is from 1963. then it had to be taken in Cluj, Romania, where local fireman Joska Roman owned and even occasionally drove it.

 

I remember hearing that the Russians couldn't get them to run as they didn't have the high octane racing fuel.

 

Auto Union factory was in Zwickau, that will later become part of the DDR.
Mercedes-Benz near Stuttgart is in parts liberated by Allies.
Thus with very few exceptions MB cars survived, while AU were transported to USSR and later destroyed. They were mostly given to science institutes, research labs and such institutions, as they were quite useless for anything else in country with as small racing scene as post-war USSR was. Thus cars were mostly studied, pieces cut to see materials and construction techniques and eventually dismantled and sent to scrap. They couldn't have been used as transport vehicles of any sort so it was unfortunately their fate.