Mercedes-Benz W25, Eifelrennen 1934 #20

On 3 June 1934, at the Eifelrennen on the Nürburgring, the new racing cars from Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union met for the first time, and the W25 won on its debut. Manfred von Brauchitsch brought #20 home 1 minute 19.4 seconds ahead of Hans Stuck's Auto Union. The car had been built for the new 750 kg formula, with a supercharged straight-eight of 3.36 litres. The race also gave Mercedes its most retold story: that the W25 was too heavy at scrutineering, so overnight the team scraped off its white paint to bare the aluminium beneath, and the Silver Arrow was born. Historians doubt it, since the German cars had already been described as silver at the Avus a week earlier, but the name stuck.

CMC's model shows the Eifel car with a large black #20 on each flank. The louvred bonnet lifts off on spring-loaded hooks to expose the supercharged straight-eight, its exhaust manifolds finished in a burnished bronze tone, and the stainless-steel radiator grille is made by hand. The wire wheels have aluminium rims and stainless spokes, held by a removable centre-lock nut. The cockpit has a textile seat with a real leather headrest, a wood-rimmed wheel and a stainless instrument panel. A limited edition of 2,000 pieces; CMC builds it at 1:18, from more than 890 parts.