Parts sponsorships: part 1 - Mercedes Original Teile

Genuine parts and spare parts are certainly not the items that appeal most to the public, especially when it comes to motor racing. Indeed, vehicles used in competition have always been the subject of experimentation and mines of ultra-high-performance components. If automakers are the ones investing in the development of such vehicles, however, it is understandable that they should seek a return.

Thus, often in some competitions of a national character, it is not uncommon for the liveries of the vehicles used to bear trademarks related to the construction or after-sales supply chain. In some cases we simply carry the name of the service or product. On other occasions, efforts have been made to ensure greater appeal for the initiative: the example of Mercedes Original-Teile is part of this second bracket.

This branch of the Stuttgart-based manufacturer handles the distribution and management of all components and spare parts for Mercedes Benz vehicles and also Smart. The network extends all over the world.

Since the mid-1990s this sponsorship has made an appearance in the DTM championship (the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft) where the house is engaged against historic rivals Opel, Bmw and Alfa Romeo. Ellen Lohr's C-Klasse from Team Zakspeed in 1995 ditches the classic Mercedes silver for a light blue color scheme. At the front, however, a graphic effect simulates the tearing of the bodywork that leaves a photograph of the underlying mechanics in plain view. The choice of blue then is not coincidental since the hue and the patterns that appear on the bodywork echo exactly those on the packages in which the parts are presented.

Becker Design is in charge of the color scheme, a graphic design studio in the town of Nieder-Olm with several motorsport collaborations under its belt in its day.

The livery is certainly impactful and, despite the team's less than epochal results, became a true classic, taken up in several rounds over the following years. Becker Design, an agency specializing in the development of motorsport-oriented designs, was responsible for studying this graphic.

In 1998 it was the turn of the CLM-GTR, which was engaged in the FIA GT Championship. The 2 Persson Motorsport Team cars bring back the blue color scheme with the bodywork "ripped" this time in the center rear. In fact, the car features a mid-engine scheme behind the driver and the idea is adapted to the different configuration. Fun fact: the drivers include Bernd Mayländer, the current conductor of the Formula 1 World Championship Safety Car.

In 2000-2004 Original-Teile returned to the DTM Championship, which had been transformed into the ITC in 1996 and then discontinued due to soaring costs. The new CLK shares nothing with the distant cousin employed in sportscar racing: the engine is in the front, and so the defining part of the livery returns to the front. The color scheme, however, is reversed: the classic gray paint scheme is contrasted with the light blue of the "uncovered" part.

This is also to conform to the new packaging graphics of all spare parts.

Alternating in the Team Persson cars are Markus Winkelhock, Christian Albers, Peter Dumbreck, Thomas Jäger, and Marcel Tiemann.

A few years off and in 2007-2008 here is the return of the historic sponsor on the new model lined up to win the championship. The C-Class features a darker silver scheme with a simulated hood opening under which the mechanicals of the production model make a fine display. disappears the blue in favor of black. Again on the silver appear in transparency the elements that identify stylized spare parts as on the new boxes.

Then we have to wait until 2014 and the regulatory revolution to find Mercedes Benz Original-Teile on the track again. The new AMG C Coupe now features an all-black color scheme except for silver skirts, rear bumper and part of the rear wheel arches. On the hood the "usual" torn sheet metal lets the AMG v8 show through.

After that interlude, the livery veers to a more low-profile color scheme, with simply the lettering identifying the car and then disappearing from the grille altogether. Although it has not been on the motorsports scene for some time, the originality of the solution has created a certain following in the world of collectibles and modeling. Even in the field of virtual racing, there is no shortage of examples of adaptations on modern or contemporary cars that help to carry on the history of these colors.

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