80th anniversary of the death of Bernd Rosemeyer

TEXTJanuary 24, 2018 · 3 min

Audi AG, Zwischengas, automatically translated

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Auto Union (1937) - Bernd Rosemeyer at the world record attempt

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Auto Union (1937) - Bernd Rosemeyer on the Berlin Avus in 1937

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Auto Union (vintage 1937) - world record attempt on January 28, 1938 by Bernd Rosemeyer - the car is pushed in the direction of travel

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Horch 853 Coupé "Manuela" - Auto Union had this luxury car built in 1937 for its most famous racing driver, Bernd Rosemeyer.

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - the front of the field at the German GP on July 25, 1937 - Lang ahead of Caracciola, followed by Rosemeyer and Müller on Auto Union

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Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Start of the Vanderbilt Cup on Long Island on July 5, 1937 - Caracciola with No. 12, the later winner Rosemeyer with No. 4

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Auto Union (1937) - Bernd Rosemeyer auf der Berliner Avus im Jahr 1937

Auto Union (Jahrgang 1937) - Weltrekordversuch am 28. Januar 1938 von Bernd Rosemeyer - der Wagen wird in Fahrtrichtung angeschoben

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Horch 853 Coupé "Manuela" – Die Auto Union liess diesen Luxuswagen 1937 für ihren berühmtesten Rennfahrer, Bernd Rosemeyer, fertigen.

Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - die Spitze des Feldes am GP von Deutschland am 25. Juli 1937 - Lang vor Caracciola, dahinter Rosemeyer und Müller auf Auto Union

Mercedes-Benz W 125 (1937) - Start zum Vanderbilt-Cup auf Long Island am 5. Juli 1937 - Caracciola mit Nr. 12, der spätere Sieger Rosemeyer mit Nr. 4

Bernd Rosemeyer, an outstanding racing driver in German motorsport history, died 80 years ago. The then 28-year-old was a top driver for Auto Union AG.

Bernd Rosemeyer

Bernd Rosemeyer was regarded as a genius in the racing car cockpit and was the motorsport idol of his time. In 1936, he won every possible title in the Auto Union Type C 16-cylinder: European Champion, German Road Champion and German Hill Climb Champion. He set several world records and was the first person to break the 400 km/h barrier on a public road: after a flying start, he drove his Auto Union Type C streamliner through the one-kilometer test track on the Reichsautobahn Frankfurt-Darmstadt at a speed of exactly 406.32 km/h.

On January 28, 1938, Rudolf Caracciola achieved the record of 432.692 km/h on the same freeway (a section of today's A5). Shortly afterwards, Rosemeyer also got into his car, an Auto Union Type R (record-breaking car), to reclaim the record. A gust of wind caught Rosemeyer's car at a speed of almost 440 km/h. After rolling over several times, Rosemeyer could only be recovered dead.

Auto Union (vintage 1937) - world record attempt on January 28, 1938 by Bernd Rosemeyer - the car is pushed in the direction of travel

Audi AG, the traditional successor to Auto Union AG Chemnitz, laid a wreath in memory of the accident at the site of the accident on the A5 between Frankfurt and Heidelberg (towards Darmstadt, memorial stone in the first parking lot after the Langen-Mörfelden exit).

Incidentally, you can find a number of articles about Bernd Rosemeyer from the press of the 1920s and 1930s in the online magazine archive.