Motor racing history of the iconic Mercedes-Benz

Written By Amy Fernandes | Updated: Feb 14, 2016, 08:10 AM IST

1. One wouldn’t get more fervent supporters of motor racing than the Nazis. Here, Dr Hans Nibel (centre) of Daimler-Benz AG explains to Hitler (right) the makeup of the W25 Grand Prix with Dr Joseph Goebbels on the left, at the International Automobile Exhibition (IAA)at Berlin in 19352. The 1930 Mercedes-Benz 710SS, with a lineage attributed to Maharaja Hari Singh Bahadur of Jammu and Kashmir, now back with Mercedes-Benz Classic that restored it3. The Mercedes-Simplex 40 HP, the oldest surviving car from 1902, at the Mercedes-Benz Classic Museum in Stuggart. It was a near identical to the first car to carry the Mercedes name4. The Tata-Mercedes-Benz rally through Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Lebanon and Pakistan had trucks competing on the condition they would carry luggage and spares of smaller, participating cars5. A painting showing Benz 3 HP at the first motor race in the world, held in 1894 from Paris to Rouen. Emile Roger drove the single-cylinder car for Benz & Cie, and so entered as Roger Benz in the race—Photos courtesy: Mercedes-Benz WINNING!

Auto writer and enthusiast Adil Darukhanawala's coffee-table book tracing the motor racing history of the iconic Mercedes-Benz also holds a treasure trove of information on the car's India journey, says Amy Fernandes

While others may tell you it's about the race, automotive historian and writer Adil Jal Darukhanawala says it's about winning them. Which is what his large, 400 page, glossy coffee-table book is about. It comes with a tagline too: Mercedes-Benz WINNING!

Underscoring these sentiments, he explains the title. "The book commemorates winning at the highest level and Mercedes Benz has been in the winning position since 1894 when the first motor race in the world was run from Paris to Rouen. And in modern times, Lewis Hamilton (who has written the Foreword for the book) won the Formula-I World Championship for the first time after 1955 for Mercedes Benz in 2014." He continues, "Also, my first motor sport event was from Sydney to London, which was won by Mercedes Benz. So, everything gelled together. When I met the CEO of Mercedes Benz, I told them that while the brand has great equity, very few know its history. Especially of their time in India. And they encouraged me to go ahead with the book, because I love history and automotive history is my passion. And so, here's the book."

As historical journals demand, research is the backbone of this book. While it took him about four years to do the book, Darukhanawala says, "The research has been continuous. I have not just collected material, I have also photographed moments of history. Some, of course, have come from my grandfather's uncle's archives. In my search, I met people who parted with some facts and archival material because they did not know what to do with them. Close friends of Classical Cars committee also chipped in here in India but Mercedes Benz gave all the images for the motor sports section. About 4,000 to 5,000 images. Their archives must have about 5 million images.

But, they did not have any history on Mercedes Benz India! I think I can still go to the archives, spend another week there and can dig up quite a lot of information."

While we let the pictures do the talking, it's interesting to note that about 120 pages of this imposing book are based on the car's history in India.