Time For Tea? Silver Arrows return...

Pass the earplugs - the Silver Arrows are going to be running at the Goodwood Revival

A friendly tip-off from Goodwood that at least 10 1930s era Silver Arrows Mercedes and Auto Unions will be running at, quote, "full racing speed" at this year's Revival meet inspired today's Time For Tea? submission. With a promise like that it's only fair to have a look and see what race speed in 500hp+, skinny tyred monsters looks like.

Scary, in a word. And noisy too. These cars have run individually at events like the Festival Of Speed but this time they'll be unleashed together on the track at the Revival and taking part in a carefully choreographed and simulated race with what the Goodwood press release describes as period 'cannon fodder' from the hapless rivals that tried to break the German stranglehold on pre-war GP racing.

See Auto Unions take on Mercedes

On occasion they did - Tazio Nuvolari's stunning win at the Nurburgring in 1935 in an obsolete Alfa Romeo a defining moment - but on the whole it was a two-way battle between, ah, government funded Auto Union and Mercedes.

The Silver Arrows did race in the UK as late as 1939 at Donington, the teams under orders to destroy the high tech cars should war break out while they were still on British soil. Indeed, the last event at which these cars raced in anger actually took place in the then Yugoslavia on the very day war was declared in 1939. In these friendlier times the Goodwood display comes with the full backing of Mercedes and Audi and a promised - but yet to be confirmed - stellar line up of celebrity drivers. The celebration will be housed in its own specially constructed pit area too, based on that of the contemporary Bremgarten track in Switzerland where they once raced. Examples of the Mercedes-Benz W25, W125, W154 and WS165 will be present alongside Auto Union Type C and Type Ds.

To see the action in person be at Goodwood the weekend of September 14-16. For now enjoy the vid...