Old school New England 92 - Scanorama

AUTOBAHN
mag nificence while you are there, a sign that this is modern ar -
chitecture that works.
As if to demonstrate that it is still the giant of the German car
industry, and the father of the modern automobile, Mercedes
has gone all-in. From a distance, you see a large silver mound.
Get closer to the 35,000 square meter building and its ingenious
spiral structure emerges. The silver is raw aluminum, a gorgeous
homage to Mercedes’ successful racing cars from the end of the
1930s, the Silver Arrows.
But it is inside that Mercedes crushes all resistance.
The steel-clad elevators with vertical slit windows rem iniscent
of a knight’s helmet that rush visitors up the inner wall to
the top floor are just one small but entertaining detail.
There is technology under the surface, too. The museum has
its own climate system that can actually create a small hurricane
in the halls to blast out flames and smoke. But the exhibits are
al most priceless. Just like the other museums, the exhibits are
not replicas but the real deal, cars that have competed on tracks
around the world or transported popes.
There is one star here that shines brighter than the others.
The Mercedes 300 SL from 1954, also called the Gullwing, makes
you breathe a little harder. And everyone thinks the same thing:
“What if cars still looked like that?”
Mercedes has invested a lot in “all-round experiences.” There
are interactive stations aplenty for bored schoolchildren. At one
of the smaller stands, I get a crash course in the history of the
Wunder-Baum, or Little Trees, air fresheners.
Michael Bock, managing director of the Mercedes-Benz Mu -
seum, says: “The museum has to be fun for the entire family,
not just those interested in cars. You might have dragged your
wife here, and she might get bored after half an hour if the only
thing to see were cars.”
Admiring a classic car is one thing. Owning one is another.
But at the Mercedes-Benz Young Classics Store, you can drive
off with a piece of modern motoring history. In contrast to the
ex hi bition specimens, these ones are for sale. What about an
aqua marine 300 SL from 1988, only 70,000km on the clock, for
€42,450 ($58,500)? It’s a high price to pay to look like Bobby
Ewing from the TV series Dallas, but the cars here are in im -
maculate condition, as close to new as you can get.
Of course, you could keep going: all the way up to Wolfsburg,
where Volkswagen has its enormous Autostadt, a mixture of
mu seum, factory, car showroom and experience center; Opel
is planning a museum in its hometown of Rüsselsheim; and a
real auto freak would never miss a detour to the racetracks of
Hocken heim and Nürburgring.
Nowhere else in the world are there such monuments to the
car, let alone so many within a few hours’ drive. �
� GO TO MUNICH SAS takes you to Munich from Copenhagen, Stockholm and
Oslo. Book your trip at www.flysas.com or use your EuroBonus points starting at
12,000 points one way
Fine tuning: Mechanic Walter Layer
at work in the Porsche repair shop
56 DECEMBER 2011/JANUARY 2012 SCANORAMA