The greatest Mercedes you've never heard of

It only raced once, but the 1939 W165 could be the most remarkable of all Silver Arrows, thanks to some controversial race organising and a secret project. Kevin Turner told its story in the 29 December 2016 issue of Autosport magazine

Kevin Turner Feb 15, 2021, 12:04 PM

Upd: Jan 24, 2023, 7:05 PM

The Italians were fed up. Having seen off Ettore Bugatti - an Italian working in France anyway - Alfa Romeo had dominated grand prix racing in the early 1930s, occasionally challenged by Maserati. Then things changed in 1934.

When German squads Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union arrived they brought new levels of professionalism and technical prowess with them, not to mention the power of Nazi state funding. Nobody could stand in their way.

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Author Kevin Turner

Kevin Turner is Autosport’s Chief Editor. While studying History at the University of York, Kevin began covering UK club events as a freelance reporter for Autosport and Motorsport News. He joined the Autosport staff as Editorial Assistant on the magazine in 2006, winning what is now known as the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award. He became National Editor in 2008 and over the next few seasons covered a range of international events, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, as well as the British Touring Car Championship and British GT. Kevin became Features Editor before switching to edit Motorsport News in 2014.

He returned to Autosport in 2016 to become editor of the magazine, a dream job that is still part of his role.

He became Chief Editor in 2020, helping to plan content for autosport.com and Autosport’s podcast as well as seeing the magazine through the coronavirus pandemic. Kevin also led work on the special publication celebrating 70 years of Autosport and has been a judge on the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award, formerly known as the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, since 2008. He lives in Fleet with his wife and two children.