The 'Mercedes-Benz W125' was a
Grand Prix racing car that was raced during 1937.
The supercharged engine of this
Silver Arrow, with 8 cylinders in line and 5600cc, attained an output of 646 horse power (475 kW). In 1938, the engine capacity of supercharged Grand Prix cars was limited to 3000cc, and the W125 was replaced by the
Mercedes-Benz W154.
The W125 was considered the most powerful race car ever for about 3 decades, until large capacity US-built V8 engines in
CanAm sportcars reached similar power in the mid
1960s. In
Formula One racing itself, the figure was not exceeded until the early
1980s, with the appearance of turbo-charged engines in Formula One.
The W125 reached race speeds of well over 300 km/h in 1937, especially on the
AVUS in
Berlin, equipped with a streamlined body.
In
land speed record runs, a
Mercedes-Benz W125 Rekordwagen was clocked at 634 km/h over a mile and a kilometer.