Mercedes Targa Florio 1924 Racing Car | Episode 2 | Back on the Road
- The Mercedes Targa Florio has to go back on the road. It has to do what it can do best, just roar and race. We all know the talent of George Russell. So there is not much to explain. It's a lot of fun to drive this car. Super impressed, such a beautiful car and with this scenery as well here in Italy. I can imagine what it would have been like racing through these streets.
- Taking into consideration it is 100 years old, it drove so nicely. And then when I took some speed around one of the left hand corners, it actually handled absolutely fine. I think the biggest difference was getting used to using the clutch pedal again. At the moment in Formula 1, you have the paddle shifts on the back of the steering wheel, automated clutch, so we only have two pedals.
- Here we have three which I've obviously driven many times in a road car before. But you have the throttle in the middle, the clutch on the left and the brake on the right, which takes a little bit of getting used to. But driving a car that's 100 years old, it handled really nicely. I'm really looking forward to driving it around a race circuit because as much as I love driving around these country roads, I want to go full gas on the straight and feel the true handling without having to worry about going through a field like this.
- I think it's easier to drive this car at Imola racetrack than on the road. So there is no oncoming traffic, there are no big bumps. After one lap you feel comfortable in this thing and I think that's why it's so incredible. It's 100 years old, yet it drives just like a car from today. And seeing the Mercedes down the front, a real privilege for me.
- It was incredible to drive this car full gas around this circuit. The car was moving so much through the corners, obviously the tyres were only about this wide. So there wasn't much grip for the engine just running so smoothly. And the noise was incredible, it makes the hair stand up on my skin. It's like a race horse, it has to go out, it has to run And the fact that it's running like this is a bit of a reward for all the hard work the whole team has put in. That's a really nice thing.
- Solitude is a race track and a famous destination. It used to be one of the most prestigious race tracks in Germany. When we won the Targa Florio and the Coppa Florio in the same year, we also gained victory here at the Solitude Mountain Race. It's a wonderful moment to see the family of the victorious driver, Mr Werner, who was a class of his own at the time.
- Now to feel how the car performs is just incredible and you can't explain what those guys did back then and especially what Christian Werner did over eight hours. Sitting in this restored car felt fantastic. I'm thrilled and I think that what the racing drivers achieved at the Targa Florio back in the days was really a lot of hard work.
- My grandmother used to tell me about Doctor Porsche, about Neubauer from the race management, about the drivers of the time, Lautenschlager, Salzer, Seiler. I am delighted that Mercedes-Benz keeps this memory alive. They were both smiling all the way round the circuit and they knew a lot of the details about this car already and I think they were enjoying it a lot.
- Solitude belongs to Stuttgart like spaetzle to lentils. A lot of people ask me: where is the Targa Florio, where can I see it? They've travelled all the way here, one even from the Nürburgring. I wouldn't have thought that people would be so enthusiastic. The car is breaking free more and more, you can tell.
- The engine runs much smoother. You can rev it up a lot easier now. It's remarkable how nicely the car runs, how it sits on the road, how you can steer it. How well the transmission matches, even here at the Solitude. One drives as if at the Targa Florio, just in third or fourth gear. And of course this makes you feel even more transported back to that time.
- The car is simply made for this. Awesome! It's amazing, this car is 100 years old. I feel really honoured to be driving this car. George has just told me that it's really difficult to change gears, as we are quite tall, so it's going to be interesting. I'm just blown away by the technology of back then.It's a real pleasure to drive this car.
- It's all very mechanical. It's difficult to downshift without scratching the gears, but that's what it's all about. This is where automobile racing started. Over the years, the Goodwood Festival of Speed has managed to become a very big event. It's hundreds of thousands of people over the days between Thursday and Sunday, so it's unique and we all love it.
- The current Duke's grandfather, the 9th Duke, brought Grand Prix racing to the property. So for us it's like coming home. Such historic ground. It is a great pleasure to present our red racer here. I love being a passenger of the 1924 Targa Florio car. We were sitting in a car that's 100 years old and it's really going very quickly.
- It's super impressive how efficient and how well engineered they were. We think things have moved on in 100 years, but they were amazingly advanced and efficient all that time ago. So to be in that actual car, being driven up the hill by Markus, was a big treat So the two of us had a perfect ride. It was an honour for me to have him as my co-driver.
- Now we go to Pebble Beach in California, Monterey, which is opened by the Tour d’Élégance. We have the great honour of being the leading car in this tour. This really gives the car the exposure it deserves. It also honours the outstanding performance, dedication and determination of our team. Having worked so hard over the last two and a half years with so much knowledge and enthusiasm.
- To restore a vehicle like this back to it´s original capabilities, you really need the best of the best. So we are proud of this engineering excellence that we have built up for more than a century So when I look back to an almost 35-year career with Mercedes-Benz, this is really a highlight of my life with this great brand.
- The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elégance is almost 75 years old and I've done 38 years and I've really watched the evolution. Just when you think you've seen everything historically, great companies like Mercedes-Benz bring something that really brings history back to life. So we finally arrived here on the Pacific coast, one of the nicest settings in the world.
- All the rocks and the different climates. Breathtaking bridges that are almost 100 years old. No one has won the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elégance more often than Mercedes-Benz. So we are incredibly proud of that. For our Targa Florio baby it was an extremely successful week. To lead the whole tour down the highway number one to Big Sur and back.
- In this country people are very interested in history and to see a car that won the most important race of its time, the Targa Florio, 100 years ago, is a thrill for them. And they are very keen to learn about the lightweight technology that was used here for the first time. The biggest highlight is what lies ahead,what is yet to come in Sicily.
- And that will be cool. That's where the car belongs, we've been working towards this event all this time. This is going to be the highlight for the car. We are here at the classical, the historical Targa Florio. That's the eclipse at the place where it all began.Where the legend was born. The Targa Florio was founded in 1906.
- In 2016, on the 110th anniversary of the first Targa Florio, the ACI and I decided to organise the Targa Classica to commemorate this history, of which all Sicilians are proud. Mercedes has a strong historical link with the Targa Florio. So I am very pleased and honoured that this car is here. I was the first one to drive this car, and I'm proud of it.
- I enjoy driving this car every single day and that's what I'm looking forward to when we go for the 108 kilometres on this historic route. To smell the air, the enthusiasm of all the spectators who really celebrate the return of the victory car from 100 years ago. That's something very special 100 years ago it was mostly gravel and no asphalt, no tarmac.
- It even increases our respect when we think of our colleagues who did this on the gravel, drifting the cars around the corner, using the brakes, doing it at a completely different speed. Chapeau! You've always looked at the photo and recognized it from the past, and also located the grandstand, because that's an incredible story for the Targa Florio, the building, and when the car drives past, then you really are100 years back in time.
- This is one of the most incredible cars I've ever driven. It's a century old, it's been restored for the 2024 Targa Florio. After competing 100 years ago, here on these very same roads back in 1924, when Mercedes won overall with Christian Werner. Proud to be here, which you could only do with the technology of that time, because they were already world leaders back then.
- A big experience, excitement, a little bit of adventure and it was really great for me to drive this car here for two days. We started more than two and a half years ago, taking the descision for the 100th anniversary of that incredible victory, to bring back the car on the road. It was something that enriched all of our lives.
- Something to be remembered by all of us. After an emotional journey, the team has completed the mission successfully. The Mercedes Targa Florio is back home.
