THE FIRST SILVER ABROW

In 1932, a rebodied SSKL arrived at Avus and beat all comers. Now Mercedes-Benz Classic has built an exact recreation of this streamlined racing pioneer, and tested it in the wind tunnel for the first time

- KYLE FORTUNE

Approaching the corner at the end of the main straight on the Mercedes-Benz Untertürkheim test track, near Stuttgart, we briefly witness 130kph. Lifting off, the supercharger's banshee howl abates, giving a brief moment of quiet serenity before the quick, dreadful realisation that the rod-actuated drum brakes aren't as up to the task of shedding speed as convincingly the supercharged 7-litre straight-six engine is at gaining it.

We're not on the full, high-speed test track today, the famous banked corner at the top end is closed (though we did manage to get a few shots on there earlier with a member of the Mercedes-Benz team driving), but even this shorter track is quite enough to get an idea of just how heroic - or, more likely, unhinged - racing drivers were in the 1930s. Alongside the straight that we've just driven along, behind high fencing to hide Mercedes-Benz's modern prototypes from view, are the grounds for Stuttgart's American football team, named The Silver Arrows - which is somewhat fitting, given the car I'm driving today.

It's a Mercedes-Benz SSKL, albeit one wearing an unpainted, streamlined body. This machine, built on a genuine 1931 chassis, is an exact recreation of the car with which privateer racer Manfred von Brauchitsch arrived at the 1932 Avusrennen in Berlin. It still looks unusual today, but back in 1932 it must have appeared other-worldly, its unique, hand-shaped bodywork marking a significant departure from the conventional SSKL.