Not all race-winning Mercedes racing cars are silver. This is the famous ‘Red Mercedes’, the 1924 winner of the immense ‘Targa Florio’ road race across Italy, rumoured to be painted red to stop nationalistic fans throwing rocks at it, in case it was an Alfa Romeo.
Powered by a supercharged two-litre four cylinder engine, the ‘Red Mercedes’ began Mercedes-Benz’s journey with forced-induction racing cars that culminated in the amazing SSK in the early 1930s.
This utterly beautiful Technic replica of Mercedes’ 1924 race winner comes from Nikolaus Lowe, who has equipped it with a working four-cylinder engine (with a functioning hand-crank), period-correct leaf spring suspension, steering, and a two-speed gearbox.
Nikolaus has photographed and presented his creation superbly and there’s more to see of this stunning build at his ‘Mercedes Targa Florio 1924’ album on Flickr. Click the link above to take a closer look.