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

STUTTGART, GERMANY – June 12, 2009: 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.