motorsport fans watched in horror on saturday as two classic racing cars which have been lovingly maintained for decades crashed into each other while driving around goodwood circuit the unique mercedes sls 300 'porter special', worth an estimated £4million, which was being driven by f1 and le mans legend jochen mass crashed into the back of a lister jaguar knobbly   thought to be worth around £1million the one of a kind 1955 mercedes   originally made out of aluminium   had been transported to the sussex racetrack from german collector dr klaus lahr especially for the salvadori cup race scroll down for video  this is the moment a £4million mercedes from the 1950s crashed into the back of a £1million lister jaguar at goodwood racetrack on saturday  spectators watched in shock as the mercedes   driven by racing legend jochen mass   ploughed into the jaguar as it exited a chicane  the rear of the jaguar   which was slowing to enter the pit lane   was wrenched upwards, while the front of the classic mercedes disintergrated  driver mass crashed into the back of the 1959 jaguar driven by tony wood during the qualifying round for the race and the famous racing car had to be winched onto a tow truck the lister, owned by barry wood, was entering the pits when mass powered out of a chicane to find the slowing lister in front of him he slammed on the brakes but his wheels locked up, causing the mercedes to smash into the rear of the lister it brought the qualifying period to an abrupt halt with stewards running onto the track to help both drivers and deal with fuel which had leaked onto the tarmac both drivers emerged from their cars unscathed but were taken to the medical room as a precaution the cars did not fare so well however, with both suffering serious damage the mercedes came off the worst, with the front end badly dented, meaning it could not be moved on its own the back of the jaguar was bent out of shape by the force of the impact it is now known whether the vehicles were insured, but it is feared repairs could cost more than £100,000 at the time, wood was the second fastest in the lister while mass was 22nd the mercedes is unique, having been created by a us mechanic in the 1950s, and it is feared it will be difficult to restore to its former glory  the jaguar fared equally badly in the accident and was left with the rear badly twisted into the air and damage to both sets of wheels  stewards rushed to deal with fuel which spilled onto the track and the race was stopped luckily, the drivers of both cars were unharmed  a statement from goodwood motorsport said: 'there was a collision during qualifying for the salvadori cup on the afternoon of saturday, march 21, 2015, involving car 23, a lister jaguar 'knobbly' driven by tony wood and car 8, a mercedes benz 300 sls 'porter special' driven by jochen mass 'following the contact between the two cars, both of which stopped close to the pit lane entrance, the session was immediately red flagged and did not resume 'in line with our safety protocols, both drivers were taken to the circuit medical centre for precautionary checks and were released shortly afterwards to enjoy the remainder of the weekend 'unfortunately, neither car was able to be repaired in time to take part in sunday's race and neither driver was able to take any further part in the on track action' the sls started out life as a mercedes 300 sl gullwing but was modified in the us in 1956 after a being involved in another serious crash it was once well known in us racing circles as the 'mercedes corvette' th accident happened at the 73rd goodwood members meeting, in which  cars from all generations are taken around the track for fans  stewards were unable to move the classic mercedes and it had to be lifted on to a tow truck before being removed from the famous circuit  side view pictures show the damage to the front of the car, which will be returned to its owner in germany in a much worse state than it left 
mercedes sls 300 germany sussex saturday 1959 lister jaguar 100,000
a unique mercedes sls 300 had been transported from germany to be shown off at the sussex track on saturday . but disaster struck as it ploughed into the back of a 1959 lister jaguar as it slowed to enter the circuit's pit lane . fans were left stunned as the cars smashed into each other before coming to a halt, badly damaged, on the track . neither driver was badly injured, although it is feared the repair bill for the two cars will be well in excess of £100,000 