GOODWOOD REVIVAL 2012
Prologue

Goodwood Revival 2012
Goodwood Estate, Chichester, West Sussex, UK
September 14-16, 2012

Images© by Tim Surman Photography

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GALLERY - Prologue

GOODWOOD CELEBRATES A RECORD-BREAKING 2012 REVIVAL

Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee, will be represented at the Cartier 'Style et Luxe' concours d'elegance at the 2012 Festival of speed as it will be devoted exclusively to vehicles used personally by The Queen, including formal State limousines and personal cars, there will also be a Royal Train carriage.

Goodwood announces that 75 years after the first appearance of the legendary pre-war 'Silver Arrows' in the UK, the 2012 Goodwood Revival will stage possibly the most spectacular historic vehicle demonstration of all time.

Goodwood will provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the famous Silver Arrows Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union Grand Prix cars once again being driven in anger at a British motor circuit for the first time in 75 years.

The iconic Mercedes-Benz W25, W125, W154 and W165, plus examples of the Auto Union Type C and Type D, will be in action at race-speeds. With well-known top-level racing drivers behind the wheels of these awesome and significant cars, this promises to be the biggest thing in historic motor sport for decades.

Racing with the Silver Arrows will be many of the cars, ERA, Maserati, Riley, Bugatti and MG, that competed against - but were totally out-classed by the dominant Mercedes-Benz and Auto Unions in the late 1930s.

The Silver Arrows
In 1934, the Grand Prix introduced the 750kg formula. With the promise of significant funding from the German government, Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union built cars which were light years ahead of the opposition, and dominated Grand Prix racing from 1934 until the outbreak of war in 1939.

The German racing colours at the time were white, but these cars ran in 'bare' metal. Rumour is that this ploy was to save weight to stay within the 750kg weight limit. The new cars quickly became known as 'Silberpfeil' (Silver Arrows in German), creating a legend that endures to this day.

The cars first UK race was in 1937 with their power outputs approaching 600bhp. The English crowd, accustomed to seeing Rileys, MGs and ERAs race with less than half the power of the German cars were fully taken-aback with the speed and sound of these monstrous machines, and the daredevil drivers who raced them. This power level would not be equalled in Grand Prix racing until the turbo era of the 1980s.

With the full support of Mercedes-Benz and Audi, the 2012 Goodwood Revival will recreate the spirit of that momentous day in 1937, with a race-speed demonstration of as many as ten of these fabulous machines, including examples of the Mercedes-Benz W25, W125, W154 and W165, and Auto Union Type C and Type D.

Piloted by world famous drivers, the Silver Arrows will stage a carefully choreographed 'race', alongside examples of the British and Continental 'cannon fodder' that raced against them in period - providing all the spectacle of a real race, but without risk to these priceless machines.

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