Silver Arrows 'race' set for Goodwood

A sensational celebration of the dominance of Grand Prix racing by the Silver Arrows cars in the later 1930s will be the big feature of the Goodwood Revival Meeting in September.

Ten cars from MercedesBenz and Auto Union will take part in a staged demonstration race with well-known racing drivers at the wheel. “The biggest thing in historic motor sport for decades,” is the claim by the promoters of the meeting.

Cars expected to run at representative speeds include the Mercedes-Benz W25, W125, W154 and W165 as well as examples of the Auto Union Type C and Type D. Alongside the Silver Arrow racers for the demonstration race will be examples of the cars that were outclassed by the dominant Mercedes-Benz and Auto Unions in the late 1930s: ERA, Maserati, Riley, Bugatti and MG will all be represented at Goodwood.

This will be the first time that so many of these leviathans have been driven together at racing speed since the Yugoslav Grand Prix on September 3 1939, the day after the outbreak of the Second World War. It is an event that may never happen again and is being arranged to mark the 75th anniversary of the UK debut of the Silver Arrows at Donington in ’37.

During the Goodwood weekend (September 14-16), the Silver Arrow cars will be based in a recreation of the Bremgarten circuit period pit and paddock, with period transporters also present to complete the setting.