“Holy Halls. The Secret car Collection of Mercedes-Benz” is the company’s treasure chamber. Once you unlock it, amazing views and insights take your breath away. 1000 automobiles tell the stories of their lives.
No less than 160 of them are displayed at the museum in Untertürkheim. Many others are regularly showcased to the public at exhibitions and events around the globe. Most of them are kept in the Hally Halls. Twelve inconspicuous buildings in and around Stuttgart hide what is by far the largest part of the collection.
But once in a gazillion years, they come out. And they would not do it for just anyone. The renowned specialist journalist and author Christof Vieweg, who also had the original idea to write the first book about Mercedes-Benz’s exclusive vehicle collection, had the change of seeing the cars and capturing in uniqe photos, with the help of automotive photographer Igor Panitz, who is known above all for his automotive and architectural photos.
50 of the vehicles of the collection were photographed under the direction of Harry Ruckaberle in the Sindelfingen-based Akka Concept GmbH photo studio. To highlight their one-of-a-kind character, the image-specialists, the Circulight lighting technology invented and patented by studio founder Ruckaberle was applied.
The Holy Halls are meant to be a delight for the brand enthusiasts. The Mercedes Simplex 40 PS, the 770 Grosser Mercedes or the Mercedes-Benz 500 k / 540 K variants are there on the glossy pages.
Motor racing is represented by the Benz “Prince Heinrich” racing touring car, the Silver Arrows from the 1930s to the 1950s, the Sauber-Mercedes C 9 and the “EVO II”, as well as Formula One racing cars right up to the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 W09 EQ Power+, depicting no less than 125 years of motorsport for the brand.
The majestic post-war models such as the Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet or the Mercedes-Benz 300 “Popemobile” are also shown, together with the 300 SL “Hobel”, the 300 SLR “Uhlenhaut Coupé”, the SLX project, various versions of the C 111 and the contemporary S 500 Intelligent Drive.
The Holy Halls with hardback, 207 photos and illustrations and 244 pages, printed in German and English, costs 59.00 Euros in Germany and 60.70 Euros in Austria.
