The Holy Halls

CURATOR Holger Lützenkirchen gazes at the faded pictures that line the walls, disappearing into the half-light at the end of this vast hall. He’s looking at ghosts and legends; long-passed Mercedes factory pilots, some with arms crossed defiantly, chins jutting, others smiling diffidently at the camera.

There’s Rudolf Caracciola, sporting a cravat, and Bob Burman wearing a giant jewel-encrusted crown. Christian Lautenschlager eyes the lens knowingly over his luxuriant moustache and a then relatively unknown Ayrton Senna stares ahead over the wheel of his 190E at the Nurburgring in ’84, minutes away from bursting onto the world stage.

Below the pictures sit row after row of competition cars; Le Mans prototypes, DTM cars and, in the distance, a wall of Formula 1 cars sealed into airtight glass-fronted hutches as if they’re in a Japanese capsule hotel. Lützenkirchen waves expansively, and then mutters quietly: “We