Experience the legends of motor racing and the mobility of tomorrow at "Mercedes-Benz & Friends"

Alongside an exhibition of more than 1800 passenger cars, vans and trucks from both old and new vehicle generations, the "Mercedes-Benz & Friends" centre at Berlin Tempelhof is all set to become the venue for experiencing all aspects of motoring. Visitors to the event, which will take place on 27 and 28 August 2011, will have the opportunity to watch the widest variety of vehicles in action, experience passenger rides or even take to the wheel themselves. The history of motor racing will also be brought to life in the form of various racing cars as well as a number of former and current racing drivers who will also be in attendance.





Demonstration drives of all six historic Silver Arrows



The spectacular highlight of the Mercedes-Benz & Friends event will be the "Racing Legends". All six Silver Arrows dating from the 1930s and 1950s, borrowed from the Mercedes-Benz Classic collection, will be lining up on the starting grid. Taking to the wheels of the Silver Arrows will be a number of successful Mercedes-Benz motorsport drivers.



The first Silver Arrow, the Mercedes-Benz 750 kg W 25 formula racing car, will be one of the vehicles putting in an appearance. The very first time this vehicle was used it carried Manfred von Brauchitsch to victory at the Nürburgring, thereby giving birth to the legend of the Silver Arrow. The subsequent direction taken by the development of motorsport vehicles will be highlighted by the McLaren-Mercedes MP 4-13 Formula 1 racing car dating from 1998, the vehicle in which Mika Häkkinen was crowned F1 world champion. The legends of motor racing history are not only the vehicles, however - their outstanding drivers have also played a crucial role. To reflect this, the drivers of the vehicles at Berlin Tempelhof will include some celebrated representatives of the worlds of the German Touring Car Masters (DTM) as well Formula 1, from the 1970s and 1980s into the present day, such as Bernd Schneider, Jochen Mass, Klaus Ludwig, Roland Asch and Dieter Glemser. Even a driver from the era of the Silver Arrows of the 1950s will also be present in the guise of Hans Hermann.



DTM drivers and the DTM Taxi



The "Racing Legends" will also meet some of today's legends at the Tempelhof event. Current DTM drivers including Bruno Spengler, Gary Paffett, Jamie Green, Ralf Schumacher, Maro Engel, Renger van der Zande and Susie Stoddart will also be coming to Berlin Tempelhof. And anyone looking for a ride in an original DTM vehicle alongside a DTM driver will have the opportunity to fulfil their wish on 27 and 28 August. The DTM Taxi enables passengers to experience first hand the sort of thrills and physical forces the DTM drivers are subjected too as part of their job.



Sportiness, safety and comfort



The AMG Driving Academy's circuit will comprise a variety of different curves, slalom sections as well as segments requiring the use of throttle lift-off techniques. Experienced instructors will demonstrate how to push the AMG vehicles to their limits, making the most of such elements as the Ride Control suspension, Speedshift and dynamic seats.



How a vehicle's assistance systems work will be highlighted on the specially designed Assist Circuit, with demonstrations by qualified instructors of Lane Keeping Assist, Speedshift, Blind Spot Assist and other assistance systems. Since road traffic accidents can never be fully eliminated, despite of all the assistance systems and safety features, a specific demonstration will be devoted to saving occupants from a vehicle which has been involved in an accident.



Mobility in the urban environment



Driving in urban traffic places specific demands on vehicles. On a complex handling circuit modelled on a restricted city environment, the smart electric drive will be demonstrated as the optimum urban vehicle. Visitors can expect to experience the dynamism of the electric drive when setting off from a standing start, which is just as exciting as the agility of the vehicle's suspension.



Experience the city first hand – there will also be an opportunity to test drive vehicles from the current model range in Berlin traffic. More than 20 vehicles will be made available for test drives, including the SLK-Class and the new C-Class Coupé, along with the B-Class F-CELL with hydrogen drive and the Vito E-Cell.



Commercial vehicles and an off-road experience



Whether designed for on-road or off-road use - commercial vehicles always cause a stir. Visitors will be able to enjoy their sheer size and the spectacular driving manoeuvres they can accomplish courtesy of passenger rides in a variety of Unimogs, vans and trucks. With rides in the Mercedes-Benz Safety Van and Mercedes-Benz Safety Truck, passengers will be able to experience to impressive effect the Mercedes-Benz ADAPTIVE ESP® system and also how the Telligent® stability control system works. The strengths of the Unimog and Mercedes-Benz off-road vehicles will be highlighted in the artificial off-road circuit, comprising such elements as steep hill ascents and descents, angled sections, undulating hillocks and the vehicle "see-saw".



The Mercedes-Benz & Friends event will enable visitors to experience many aspects of driving, from motorsport through to city traffic and even commercial vehicles. Access to the event will be via the Tempelhof Park (Gates 4a, 9 and 10). Due to the lack of parking facilities in the vicinity of the event area, visitors are requested not to travel by car but instead to travel to the Tempelhof station using the S-Bahn (suburban rail network) and the U-Bahn (underground rail network). The event area can be reached via U-Bahn line U6 and S-Bahn lines S41, S42 and S47.



Source: Daimler AG



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