Renaissance in a glamorous ambience: the “International St. Moritz Automobile Week” offers numerous highlights with a great variety of historic vehicles.
It will take place from 8 to 17 September 2023. As early as 1929 and 1930, there were Automobile Weeks in St. Moritz and Mercedes-Benz was already thrilling visitors to the famous Alpine resort. This year the brand is represented with selected classic cars.
Mercedes-Benz Classic is participating in several programme events with the following vehicles:
- The 540 K Streamliner (W 29) of 1938, a 300 SL Coupé (W 198) produced in 1955 and a Sauber-Mercedes C 9 dating from 1989 will take to the starting line at the Kilomètre Lancé (8 to 10 September 2023) on the site of Engadin Airport in St. Moritz. The C 9 is driven by brand ambassador Bernd Mayländer, the driver of the Formula One Safety Car.
- At the special exhibition “100 Years of Le Mans” as part of the Motorsport Rendezvous (13 to 15 September 2023), Mercedes-Benz will unite two race winners: the 300 SL racing sports car (W 194) that won the endurance classic in France in 1952 and the Sauber-Mercedes C 9 that contributed a second place to the Silver Arrows’ double victory in 1989.
- A Mercedes-Benz 280 SL “Pagoda” (W 113) dating from 1968 will take part in the Bernina Gran Turismo hill climb (14 to 17 September 2023).
- On 14 September 2023, the Mercedes-Benz evening will take place at the “Paradiso” mountain hut.
The St. Moritz Automobile Weeks of 1929 and 1930 already included a kilometre race, a Concours d’Elegance and, as the highlight, the Bernina Gran Turismo. The Kilomètre Lancé of 2023 will take place according to the historical model, but at a different location: on the 1.8-kilometre runway of Engadin Airport, 1,707 metres above sea level. This is where the drivers can demonstrate the acceleration and speed of their classics.
Whether they actually go to the performance limits of their cars is of course up to them. The lineup of vehicles is certainly spectacular. At the Motorsport Rendezvous, exclusive vehicles from motor racing history are on display, flanked by modern luxury vehicles.
The Bernina Gran Turismo has been held since 2014, as a hill climb for classic motor sports vehicles from the pre- and post-war period up to 1990. As part of the current International St. Moritz Automobile Week, it takes place on a closed section of the original track: there are more than 50 bends and 450 metres of altitude to be negotiated over the 5.7 kilometres from La Rösa to the top of the pass.
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