Legendary 1954 Mercedes W 196 R F1 Race Car Expected To Fetch $53 Million At RM Sotheby’s Auction

Legendary 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R F1 race car expected to fetch $53 million at RM Sotheby’s auction on 1 February 2025.

Chassis number 00009/54 was donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum by Mercedes-Benz in 1965.

Legendary car is part of an 11-car collection that RM Sotheby’s will be offering to support the Museum’s collection and restoration efforts.

The car holds the unique distinction of being driven by two of motor racing’s best drivers, Juan Manuel Fangio and Sir Stirling Moss.

Fangio piloted it to victory at the ’55 Buenos Aires Grand Prix while Moss drove it to second position at the Italian Grand Prix.

A 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Formula One With Streamlined Body “Stromlinienrennwagen” is expected to fetch over €50 million (or around $53 million) when it goes under the hammer on 1 February 2025 during an exclusive standalone auction at the Mercedes-Benz Museum.

Donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum by Mercedes-Benz in 1965, the car part of an outstanding 11-car collection that RM Sotheby’s will be offering to support the Museum’s collection and restoration efforts.

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Chassis number 00009/54 is one of only four known complete examples of W 196 R mounted with the exquisite factory-built enclosed-fender “Stromlinien” coachwork at the conclusion of the 1955 season.

Presented in its proper Monza livery from the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, the racing car is the second W 196 R ever offered for private ownership, and the first example offered with the streamlined coachwork.

The legendary car holds the unique distinction of being driven by two of motor racing’s best drivers, Juan Manuel Fangio, who piloted it to victory at the ’55 Buenos Aires Grand Prix and Sir Stirling Moss, who drove it to second position at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza later in the same season.

Developed to meet the new “up to 2.5 litre” regulations that applied from 1954, the W 196 R featured a straight-eight engine, which displaces 2,494 cubic centimeters and produces 213 kW (290 horsepower).

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