“When you hit a bridge at 160 [mph] where you take off, that’s pretty scary. Because there’s nothing you can do; you land where the thing lets you land.” That’s legendary racing driver Stirling Moss, recalling just one of the many intense moments that defined his record-breaking and still unbeaten 1955 Mille Miglia victory. Only 25 years old at the time, Moss famously piloted the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR #722 to the podium in a record-setting time of ten hours and seven minutes, averaging 98.53 mph over the 992-mile circuit.
Moss’s record survived the 1956 running of the Mille Miglia unscathed, but a tragic accident at the 1957 race, which brought a swift end to tradition of running of races on public roads in Italy, helped to ensure his record would stand uncontested for decades.
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To help celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of his epic achievement, Moss reunited with the race-wining Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR #722, the reunion captured by the skilled photographers of Petrolicious. Any concerns that Moss’s love for #722 may have waned over the past sixty years will be erased by the trademark bemused grin he displays as he fires up the restored car for a nostalgic romp. A fleeting moment, it speaks volumes about man and machine.
- -from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1HbV5Rt
via Agya
