A Mercedes from 1907 still has pace at Goodwood’s Timed Shoot Out

Goodwood’s Timed Shoot Out has always operated by a simple and democratic principle: if it runs and its driver is brave, it belongs on the hill. The consequence is a starting line that reads like an automotive museum brought to life, with machinery separated by generations yet united by speed and mechanical soul.

The 1907 Mercedes 120hp four cylinder stands as the oldest entry in recent competition, a 14.4-litre titan that predates most of the cars competing alongside it by decades. Built when motorcar racing was still a frontier sport, this Mercedes carries the engineering confidence of its era: massive displacement where turbochargers would later go, four cylinders where efficiency was not yet a language, and a presence that commands respect simply through its mass and engineering.

To watch it climb the Goodwood hill is to hear automotive history unfold. The four cylinder engine delivers a raw, mechanical tempo that modern powerplants can only approximate through synthetic recreation. The driver sits exposed, helmeted and leaned into the turn, working the wheel with deliberate precision as the machine responds with the directness of an era before power steering softened the dialogue between human and machine.

This is what the Timed Shoot Out celebrates: not nostalgia for its own sake, but the proposition that engineering excellence and the courage to drive hard remain timeless. A car designed when William Holden was not yet born still belongs in competition, still has momentum, still moves through space with purpose. Goodwood Motor Circuit remains one of the few venues where this conversation can happen at full throttle.

Imagery courtesy of Goodwood Motor Circuit (@fosgoodwood).