Mercedes-Benz first won the World Sportscar Championship in 1955.
The championship was the third season of the FIA’s World Sportscar Championship, which began in 1953. Mercedes-Benz entered the season with the 300 SLR, a sports-racing car derived from the company’s advanced W196 Formula One machinery. The car combined a lightweight spaceframe design with a 3.0-liter straight-eight engine.
Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson won the Mille Miglia, while Moss and John Fitch won the RAC Tourist Trophy. Moss and Peter Collins then won the Targa Florio, giving Mercedes-Benz enough points to secure the manufacturers’ title over Ferrari.
The season is remembered for both achievement and tragedy. A 300 SLR was involved in the 1955 Le Mans disaster, which killed more than 80 spectators. Mercedes-Benz withdrew from the race and ended its factory racing program after the season, making the 1955 championship its first—and, for decades, only—World Sportscar Championship title.