- Mercedes-Benz Classic displayed 12 significant vehicles at FuoriConcorso 2026.
- The showcase ranged from the 1886 Patent Motor Car to AMG ONE.
- The HWA EVO produces 388kW and is limited to 100 units.
Mercedes-Benz Classic has used Lake Como’s FuoriConcorso 2026 to put 140 years of motoring history on one very elegant lawn, stretching from the world’s first car to a modern Formula One-derived hypercar.
Held this past weekend at Villa del Grumello, FuoriConcorso ran under the theme “Kraftmeister", or the "soul of German craftsmanship”. Mercedes-Benz Classic brought a dozen significant machines to the event, creating a rolling history lesson with rather better scenery than most classrooms.
From patent car to Silver Arrow
The display began with a faithful replica of the 1886 Benz Patent Motor Car, widely regarded as the world’s first automobile. Its 0.55kW output looks faintly comic beside today’s numbers, but without it, none of the later fireworks would have followed.
Also in the “Starting Grid” was a 1906 Mercedes 120 PS six-cylinder racing car, followed by a 1928 Mercedes-Benz SSK.
The SSK represented the brand’s supercharged S-series sports tourers, nicknamed “White Elephants” for their pale paintwork and rather unsubtle noise.
Mercedes-Benz also showed the W 125 Silver Arrow, the 1937 racing car that helped Rudolf Caracciola secure the European Championship title.
Gullwings, rally cars and hypercars
The post-war story was covered by a 1952 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL racing sports car, the machine that led to the road-going 300 SL “Gullwing” in 1954. A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR also appeared, bringing Mille Miglia-winning heritage to Lake Como.
More recent motorsport came via the 1981 Mercedes-Benz 500 SL “Rallye”, while the modern end of the display was handled by two properly serious machines.
The 2007 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 GT produces 500kW from its supercharged V8, reaches 100km/h in three seconds and has a top speed of 337km/h.
Alongside it sat a gold-coloured Mercedes-AMG One from 2022, using Formula 1-derived technology and a 782kW system output from a 1.6-litre V6 and four electric motors.
190 family gets its moment
On the “Private Lawn”, Mercedes-Benz focused on the W 201-era 190. The line-up included a 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution DTM racer with racing ABS, a 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II sedan and the new HWA Evo.
The HWA Evo produces 388kW from a 3.0-litre V6 and will be built in a run of 100 units.
“FuoriConcorso has shown what Mercedes-Benz has epitomised for 140 years: Pioneering spirit, innovation – and craftsmanship at the highest level,” said Marcus Breitschwerdt, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH. “The audience’s reactions encourage us to vividly tell this story.”
