At the 2012 Goodwood Revival Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union brought some very special cars. The phenomenal Silver Arrows Grand Prix cars of the 1930s.
These cars weighed a shade over 750kg and with their supercharged, rear mounted, 500bhp engines could reach 180mph on the track.
Legend has it that the original Mercedes cars were painted white but were found to be a shade over the 750kg weight limited imposed in Grand Prix racing of 1934. In order to reduce the weight of the car the paint was scraped off and thus the Silver Arrows were born.
Whatever the legend they look, and sound, utterly incredible. Prior to their demonstration run on track they were all warmed up in the holding area. The sound tingles the spine. It is a big-pitched scream that penetrates the air and absorbs the mind.
They do not look like their brethren from the 1930s. Graceful at a standstill and, at speed, the Auto Union Type C and Ds and the Mercedes-Benz W125s held the crowd's attention like nothing else all weekend.