Silver Arrows Go Hill Climbing and Set Speed Record

Words: Steve Johnson

With the recent progress demonstrated by Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber, the soon-to-be rebranded Audi F1 works team, I’m getting pretty fired-up for the 2026 F1 season. And if you’ve been reading the quattro magazine stories about Auto Union’s Grand Prix racing in the 1930s you should know that when a company with Audi’s heritage enters a racecar they don’t do it just to log laps around a track. But lapping racetracks isn’t the only thing Audi, or Auto Union back in the day could do. Oh no, the Silver Arrows were not just one-track ponies.

When Auto Union first tested their Type A racecar in early 1934 one of the first things they did was to see how fast it would go. Seems logical. They were pleasantly surprised to learn they has a fast, make that record-setting fast, racecar with which to enter the grand prix racing world. But why not also compete in a couple other forms of motorsport while you’re at it? Turns out, mountain roads and long stretches of European highways also make good places to compete.

With just a few changes to the Type A and the later grand prix cars they made very good hill climb racers. It didn’t take much to optimize them for a race against the clock up a twisty mountain road. Hans Stuck was very good at it. He was also brave enough to drive flat-out on long stretches of highway to see just how quick and how fast a Silver Arrow could go. He was joined in this endeavor by teammate Bernd Rosemeyer. Together the two Auto Union drivers climbed many mountains and set numerous speed records. Read all about their trials and tribulations in the next issue of quattro Magazine, posted now for Audi Club North America members to read here on-line and arriving in member’s mailboxes in the coming weeks.