W 196 R Streamliner | Racing car | 1954 © DAIMLER AG

MUNICH.- Striking in their radical posture – already from a distance they arouse our curiosity: Extremely rare examples of cars bearing the star symbol. Never before have they been seen in this particular composition, stringently focused on aerodynamics, speed and Gestaltung (form giving processes).

The Lightning Benz (Blitzen Benz) – capable of speeds of more than 200 km/h – almost a hundred years old! The Silver Arrow Grand Prix racing car »W 196 R«with its streamlined bodywork, 1954. The jet black painted sculpture of the Autobahn-Kurier of 1938 – unit numbers: 2. Equally rare the futuristic highperformance C111-3 of 1978 – a design study. The icon of style, the 300 SL Coupé – nicknamed the >Gullwing< because of its doors resembling wings, 1955. The Coupé CLS of 2004, untypically with four doors. The Bionic Car – a singular experimental car of 2005 whose shape was modelled on the streamlining characteristics of nature: To be exact – the aerodynamics of the cubicus boxfish (>ostracion cubicus<).

In conjunction with the cars, the exhibition also focuses on the design work. This is illustrated in the form of drafts, sketches, renderings, tapes and models. Die Neue Sammlung presents a walk-in installation in which the cars are featured as the outcome of design processes.

540K | Motorway Courier | 1938 © DAIMLER AG