Seventy six different turns separate the start and finishing lines at the Arosa ClassicCar hillclimb, which is held at around 1800 meters above sea level with an altitude change of 422 meters from top to bottom. Overall, the competitors cover at speed 7.3 kilometres on each run. And despite the perilous course, over 180 vehicles are registered to tackle it in 2023, facing bravely all those tricky blind tightening high-speed corners, low-speed hairpins and flowing bends with radical changes of camber in between them.

As usual, the starting list includes the rarest Ferraris, Lancias, Porsches, Jaguars and many other British, French and German sports cars form a bygone era when cars actually made pleasant noises and smelled of rich petrol to air ratio mixtures and oil. For the first time, this year’s Arosa ClassicCar will feature IWC’s brand ambassador Laura Kraihamer. The racing driver will test her talent against all the other amateur and professional competitors who will run on the day.

2023 will mark the 19th time that racing cars will hit that narrow ribbon of tarmac located in the Bündner mountains. For the IWC Racing Team and Laura it will be the third time on this course driving the 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL in its distinct silver and black livery. We can therefore only assume that the experienced team will come prepared and determined to do well. We have seen Laura sliding IWC racing cars gracefully around the ice track in St. Moritz during the International Concours d’Elegance and racing them in Goodwood during the Members Meeting. She is not only a skilled and fast pilot, but also one that drives with a certain amount of flair and grace. Small wonder the brand picked her to be brand ambassador. 

Whatever happens on the weekend between the 31st of August and 3rd of September – make sure to watch this space. We will be reporting live from the event on Classic Driver’s Instagram channel, so make sure not to miss our coverage.

Photos: Mathieu Bonnevie