Stunning Mercedes

black mamba

1 )

2 )

3 )

sarasphotos

Great shots of a great car! Nice BW processing.

Seeing the pictures made me curious - is this a replica or the real thing? I did a little Googling and only 7 of this model (+ 2 of the coupe) were ever built, one of which was crashed at Le Mans in 1955. If this is the real thing, that's a VERY VERY expensive car sitting there. Even a replica is certainly not cheap.
Very cool, always neat to see these pieces of history.

black mamba

Thanks, Sara. This car is the real deal. In light of its rarity and extreme value, it was accorded special placement on the field....no other cars near it. The Mercedes factory has always considered the Amelia Island show to be a special, pinnacle event. In the past, they have been very accommodating and would send over some of the " crown jewels " from their own private museum.

Juano

Cool car and nice processing. I’m curious what color was the car that gave that beautiful silver tone when converted to bw?

sarasphotos

Wow, lucky you got to see it!

black mamba

@Juano said:
Cool car and nice processing. I’m curious what color was the car that gave that beautiful silver tone when converted to bw?

The car is painted in Mercedes's traditional silver. I would describe it as being a light-toned silver that had a mile of depth to it. It was a spectacular thing to see.

A bit of history. Back when the international racing community decided to assign colors to the different nations, Britain got green, the Italians got red, the French got blue and the Germans got white. At some point....fairly early I believe....the Germans switched to silver.

black mamba

@sarasphotos said:
Wow, lucky you got to see it!

I feel that way. I'm no longer the premier car show hound I used to be. About 4 years ago, I cut back to the Amelia show and the Pebble Beach show. I doubt I'll make the Pebble Beach show any more....the "cost-benefit" ratio got out of whack. I will probably still go to the big annual Ferrari gathering in south Florida.

Juano

Another question, is the whole purpose of that “spine” in the back to be a head rest or something else in addition?

black mamba

@Juano said:
Another question, is the whole purpose of that “spine” in the back to be a head rest or something else in addition?

That's a good question. I've always assumed that functioning as a headrest was part of the deal. I notice that there is an access panel to a portion of it. My guess is that space houses the filler pipe for gas....just a guess. I suspect that it also plays a role in aerodynamics. The driver cockpit and windshield create quite a turbulence at speed. The positioning of this feature right behind the driver may mitigate, to some degree, the detrimental turbulence. I have some buddies with Mercedes. I'm going to ask them about it.

Stumblebum

I think 2nd one is cool! Looks like it was taken in 60s!

black mamba

@Stumblebum said:
I think 2nd one is cool! Looks like it was taken in 60s!

Hey, buddy. Your posting here causes me to reflect on time gone by. In the 60's, my primary interest was fast cars and beautiful young ladies. Photography had not entered the picture yet.

El Gato

Beautiful car!

Wonderful processing in B&W, excellent job!!

black mamba

@El Gato said:
Beautiful car!

Wonderful processing in B&W, excellent job!!

Thanks, Al. I'm very appreciative for the encouragement from both you and Taz to expand my B&W work. There are times when it is the preferred approach and this was one of those times. Take care, my friend.

roaddog52

A stunning example of automotive art! Great captures and nice job on the B&W conversion.

black mamba

Thanks, Phil. It's great to hear from you. I hope you're doing well.