Lewis Hamilton's McLaren MP4-23 Arrives at the Mercedes-Benz Museum

MP4-23 arrives at the Mercedes-Benz Museum

Celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Silver Arrows

By Michael Gauthier
June 12, 2009 2:59 PM
Filed Under: Classics, F1, German, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes has announced they will showcase Lewis Hamilton's McLaren MP4-23 at their official museum in Stuttgart, Germany.

The exhibit is part of Mercedes' celebration of the 75th anniversary of their legendary Silver Arrow racing cars of the 1930's. Visitors will be able to see Hamilton's F1 car as well as every other prominent Mercedes racer since 1934. The cars (40 in all) will be displayed on a unique banked stretch of high-speed track in the museum's Races and Records room.

According to Hamilton, "Being in this fantastic building is also very appropriate because it's where we launched MP4-23 back in January 2008. So it's fitting that my championship-winning car should be returning home, where it not only joins McLaren-Mercedes' previous title-winner - Mika Hakkinen's 1999 MP4-14 - but also the finest display of Mercedes-Benz's historic road and racing masterpieces in the whole world."

The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm, so if you find yourself in Stuttgart, it might be worth a look.

Source: Daimler

Press Release (Click to expand)

The Newest Silver Arrow Arrives at the Mercedes-Benz Museum: The McLaren MP4-23

As part of the 75th anniversary of the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows racing cars, the world championship winning car of 2008 Formula One season recently arrived at the Mercedes-Benz Museum, located in Stuttgart, Germany.

The McLaren MP4-23 Formula One car was lifted by crane into its new resting place in the presence of Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton and Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Norbert Haug. Visitors to the museum can now admire the racing car in the museum's Legend room M7 - Races and Records.

"With the addition of the MP4-23 to the museum, we are able to present the latest generation of Silver Arrows alongside its predecessors", said Michael Bock, managing director of the Mercedes-Benz Museum GmbH.

"Here on the banked wall visitors can now see every legendary racing car since 1934, including the one driven by Lewis."

"I'm extremely proud to be in Stuttgart to celebrate the arrival of my Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 into the Mercedes-Benz Museum", said Lewis Hamilton.

"Being in this fantastic building is also very appropriate because it's where we launched MP4-23 back in January 2008. So it's fitting that my championship-winning car should be returning home, where it not only joins McLaren-Mercedes' previous title-winner - Mika Hakkinen's 1999 MP4-14 - but also the finest display of Mercedes-Benz's historic road and racing masterpieces in the whole world."

Legend room M7 transports museum visitors to a stretch of high-speed track, where the racing and record-breaking vehicles are displayed on a long strip of black asphalt reminiscent of a steep banked corner.

All categories are represented, from the earliest vehicles and Silver Arrows to the race trucks and Formula One racing cars of the modern era.

And there is method in their arrangement, since the cars are all grouped thematically, 40 of them in total.

The Mercedes-Benz Museum can be reached quickly and conveniently using public transport. In addition to bus line 56, which runs between Bad Cannstatt and the bus stop at "Mercedes-Benz Welt" ("Mercedes-Benz World"), visitors can also use the S-Bahn (rapid transit system) which stops at "Neckarpark (Mercedes-Benz)".

For guests arriving at the Mercedes-Benz Museum by car, two car parks are available: the Mercedes-Benz Museum car park and P4 car park.

The address of the Mercedes-Benz Museum is: Mercedesstraße 100, 70372 Stuttgart.

Visitors will find further information at www.mercedes-benz.com/classic.