Mercedes 2-Litre Supercharged Racer, Targa Florio 1924 #23

Two years before the merger that created Mercedes-Benz, Daimler took a new two-litre Mercedes racing car to Sicily for the Targa Florio of April 1924. Developed under Ferdinand Porsche, it had a four-cylinder engine with a Roots supercharger that the driver engaged with the pedal, raising output from 68 to 126 hp, and the cars were painted red, Italy's racing colour, so as not to stand out. Over four laps of the 108-kilometre Medio circuit through the Madonie mountains, Christian Werner won outright, the first non-Italian winner since 1920, and took the Coppa Florio as well. His team-mates Christian Lautenschlager and Alfred Neubauer also finished. Neubauer drove this car, #23; by 1926 he had stopped racing and become the team's racing manager, and he later directed the Silver Arrows.

CMC's model is finished in dark red with a fine gold coachline, white #23 on the body sides and on the mesh stone guard over the radiator. Polished exhaust headers sweep out through the side of the bonnet, two spare wheels are strapped to the tail, and the red wire wheels wear white-wall tyres. This is CMC's version with the external fuel line. The cockpit is spare: a tape-bound steering wheel, a row of dials across a red dash and black seats. A limited edition of 600 pieces; CMC builds it at 1:18, from more than 1,000 parts.