A chunk of motorsport historical past has set a brand new benchmark at public sale. The 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen, one of the vital vital Method One vehicles ever constructed, has been bought by way of RM Sotheby’s for a staggering €51,155,000 ($55.3 million USD). This sale makes it essentially the most useful Mercedes-Benz competitors automobile ever auctioned and one of the vital costly Method One vehicles of all time.
This instance, chassis quantity 00009/54, is considered one of solely 4 W 196 R fashions to obtain the enclosed-fender Stromlinienwagen (Streamliner) bodywork. It was pushed to victory by Juan Manuel Fangio on the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix and later piloted by Sir Stirling Moss on the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, the place he set the quickest lap.
Following its racing profession, Mercedes-Benz donated the automobile to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 1965, the place it was meticulously preserved for 59 years. Throughout its time on the museum, it was displayed at prestigious automotive occasions, together with Pebble Seaside and the Petersen Automotive Museum.
The W 196 R performed a major function in Mercedes-Benz’s dominant return to Method One, securing back-to-back World Championships in 1954 and 1955. Designed beneath Rudolf Uhlenhaut, the automobile launched cutting-edge know-how, together with desmodromic valve actuation and direct gas injection, each of which influenced future racing and highway vehicles.
With its unparalleled racing pedigree, period-correct Monza livery, legendary provenance and record-setting sale worth, the W 196 R Streamliner is now firmly cemented as one of the vital vital public sale leads to motorsport historical past.
