“Hitler’s Racing Car”

“Auto Union, founded in 1932, was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers. Its Chairman, Klaus, Baron von Oertzen, wanted a show piece project to announce the new brand. At the 1933 Berlin Motor Show, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler announced a state-sponsored motor racing programme: to develop a “high speed German automotive industry”

“At fellow director’s Adolf Rosenberger insistence, von Oertzen, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, German racing driver Hans Stuck, and Rosenberger approached the Chancellor. In a meeting in the Reich Chancellory, Hitler agreeed to pay ₤40,000 for the country’s best racing car of 1934, as well as an annual stipend of 250,000Reichmarks each for Mercedes and Auto Union.”