- In 1955 Mercedes-Benz won it all – 70 years ago, the brand dominated the historic Mille Miglia
- Overall victory and record time for eternity by Moss and Jenkinson with the 300 SLR racing sports car “722” in 10:07.48 hours
- 2025: Preparation and technical support on site by the Mercedes-Benz Classic Centre
- “Your star in the best hands”: The Mercedes-Benz Classic Partner network comes to Italy
- Participation of the Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed (combined energy consumption: 13.7 l/100 km | combined CO₂ emissions: 312 g/km | CO₂ class: G)[1] as a tribute to this legendary racing tradition
Living memory of a success for eternity: at the 1000 Miglia from 17 to 21 June 2025, Mercedes-Benz Classic celebrated the brand’s legendary overall victory and three class victories in the iconic Mille Miglia thousand-mile race 70 years ago. Three classic cars from the company’s own vehicle collection were on show as fascinating witnesses of that era. These collection vehicles and the customer vehicles in the Mercedes-Benz Classic team were cared for by the experts from the Mercedes-Benz Classic Centre before, during and after the 1000 Miglia.
“In 1955, Mercedes-Benz won every class in which the works team competed in a truly historic Mille Miglia. In doing so, the brand emphasised not only the reliability of the vehicles with different drive technologies, but also the outstanding engineering skills that remain firmly rooted at the heart of the brand. A double victory in the racing sports car class, triple victories in the production sports car class as well as in the diesel class were highlights in one of the most successful motorsport eras of our brand, which still characterise it today.”
Marcus Breitschwerdt, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH.
At this year’s 1000 Miglia, an original 300 SLR racing sports car (W 196 S) commemorated the overall victory by Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson in 1955. With a finishing time of 10 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds and a sensational average speed of 157.6 km/h, the duo set a record at the racing debut of the 300 SLR that was never bettered in the history of the Mille Miglia. Marcus Breitschwerdt paid due homage: together with Stirling Elliot Moss, the son of Sir Stirling Moss, he drove over the starting ramp in Brescia in the 300 SLR. The 300 SL Coupé (W 198) in its authentic look with the historic starting number 417 honoured the class victory and fifth overall place in 1955 achieved with this super sports car driven by John Cooper Fitch and Kurt Gessl. A 180 D “Ponton” saloon (W 120) commemorated the 1955 victory in the diesel class by Helmut Retter and Walter Larcher.
Stirling Elliot Moss took part in the 1000 Miglia as a co-driver in Matthias Bonczkowitz’s Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (W 198) as part of the Mercedes-Benz Classic team. Bonczkowitz’s “Gullwing” has a special biography: it is the sports car with which Stirling Moss introduced the 300 SL to Europe in 1954.
Network of expertise: Mercedes-Benz Classic Partner now also in Italy
Under the motto “Your star in the best hands”, the first two Mercedes-Benz Classic Partners in Italy were presented before the start of the 1000 Miglia. These are the long-established Mercedes-Benz partner companies Bonera in Brescia and Rossi in Perugia. This step represents the internationalisation of the successful Classic Partner network by Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH. The certified specialist dealerships for servicing classic Mercedes-Benz vehicles are also particularly dependable contacts for the comprehensive range of replacement parts from Mercedes-Benz Classic Genuine Parts.
Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed and Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
As part of the 1000 Miglia 2025, Mercedes-AMG offered a very special customer experience with the AMG PureSpeed presented in 2024. The performance car is a two-seater without a roof or windscreen, and offers racing DNA with no compromises. It celebrates the motorsport tradition of Mercedes-Benz with an exciting racing car design, innovative materials and modern technology. Some features such as the HALO safety system reflect the fascination of the current Formula 1™. The vehicle, which is limited to 250 examples, also makes reference to historic racing cars. The aerodynamic cowls (“scoops”) behind the head restraints are reminiscent of the 300 SLR. At the 1000 Miglia, Mercedes-AMG gave customers and media representatives the opportunity to drive the exclusive small series in a fascinating environment.
In parallel with the 1000 Miglia, the SLR.CLUB organised a tour on the historic traces of the 1955 race. The SLR.CLUB is one of more than 80 brand clubs recognised by the company, with a total of more than 120,000 members worldwide. The exclusive tour with different variants of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren super sports car of the 199 model series took the drivers through Siena, Florence and San Marino, among other places. One of the highlights was participation by several examples of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren “Stirling Moss”. This completely open special model was created in 2009 as a tribute to the British racing driver and Mille Miglia winner of 1955. The Experience thus served to bridge the gap to the Mille Miglia of 70 years ago.
The brilliant motorsport year 1955
1955 was a magnificent season, with Mercedes-Benz winning all the major motorsport titles: Formula 1 World Championship, Sports Car World Championship, European Touring Car Championship, US American Category D Sports Car Championship. The greatest star of the year was the new Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR racing sports car based on the W 196 R Formula 1 racing car in which Juan Manuel Fangio became world champion in 1954 and 1955.
Among the numerous successes, the 1955 Mille Miglia shone particularly brightly as Mercedes-Benz dominated the legendary road race at that time. The brand led the overall ranking with a double victory and secured half of the top ten places. Highlights of the individual classes were a double Mercedes-Benz victory in the sports cars over 2 litres (Stirling Moss/Denis Jenkinson ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio, Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR) and a triple victory in the Gran Turismo over 1.3 litres (John Cooper Fitch/Kurt Gessl ahead of Olivier Gendebien/Jaques Washer and Salvatore Casella, Mercedes-Benz 300 SL). The triple victory with the Mercedes-Benz 180 D (model series 120) in the diesel class, which was first admitted to the Mille Miglia in 1955, was also celebrated. Helmut Retter/Wolfgang Larcher won ahead of Karl Reinhardt/Wulf Wisnewski and Arturo Masera/Pasquale Cardinali. When registering for this year’s event, visitors to the exhibition grounds in Brescia were able to follow in the footsteps of these legendary drivers: in a simulator of The Classic Car Trust (TCCT) visually modelled on the winning car of Fitch/Gessl, visitors were able to take the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and race in the digital metaworld “Roarington”.
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[1] The specified values were determined according to the prescribed measurement procedure WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure). The specified ranges pertain to the German market. The energy consumption and CO₂ emissions of a car depend not only on efficient utilisation of the fuel or energy source by the car, but also on the driving style and other non-technical factors.
