Within car auctions, there have been two brands that have reigned at the top for the most expensive brands ever sold on the auction floor; these are Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz. Since 2022, a Mercedes-Benz has held the top spot of the most expensive car, while a roster of different Ferraris has occupied that number two position, until earlier this month when a Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen took that position, giving the German brand a one-two dominance on the auction charts.
On 1 February, RM Sotheby’s hosted a special one-car auction titled W 196 R: The Monza Streamliner, in Stuttgart, Germany, home to Mercedes-Benz. Originally estimated at US$50 million, it eventually sold for over €46.5 million (around US$53.9 million), making it the second most expensive car ever sold at auction, surpassing a 1962 Ferrari 330 LM/250 GTO, which was also sold by RM Sotheby’s in 2023 for US$51.7 million.
Undoubtedly, what pushed this car over the edge into record-breaking territory was its rarity, racing prestige, and provenance, with it having a blend of all of these elements, which pushed up its value. Most famous of all was that it crowned one of Formula One’s earliest and greatest World Champions.
Lot 1 | Mercedes-Benz | 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen
Circa 1954
Chassis Number: 00009/54
Provenance:
- 1954-1955, Daimler Benz AG
- 1955, Daimler-Benz Museum (now the Mercedes-Benz Museum), Stuttgart, Germany
- 1965, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum
Estimate: €50,000,000
Hammer Price: €46,500,000
Sold: €51,155,000 (around US$53 million)
Auction House: RM Sotheby’s
Sale: W 196 R: The Monza Streamliner
Date: 1 February 2024
Due to the historical importance of the lot, before bidding, a sort of opening ceremony and presentation was held, all of which took place at the Mercedes-Benz Museum. In collaboration with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum and Mercedes-Benz themselves, a small discussion was held that preceded the sale.
A key topic brought up between the panel members was how exclusive and rare such a sale is, with them stating that car enthusiasts should not expect to see another sale like this within their lifetimes. Another key theme was the idea that this Mercedes-Benz was returning home after being in America for exactly sixty years as of this year.
Additionally, the reason why the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is selling this prized vehicle along with ten others later this month is part of a broader strategy to raise capital for the museum to better improve the preservation of older vehicles and free up space to acquire more cars to add to their over 180-car collection.
The talk was finished off by Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Boss Toto Wolff, who spoke on the car’s impressive racing heritage and engineering prowess.
Ferrari S.p.A. | 1962 Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO by Scaglietti | Chassis No. 3765 LM | Sold by RM Sotheby's New York for around US$51.7 million, 2023 | This was the car that the current lot surpassed for the second most expensive car of all time
The specialist who won the lot on behalf of his client on the other side of the phone raising the paddle number
The auctioneer opened the bidding, which also took place in the museum, for the lot at €20 million, with the price dramatically rising from there. RM Sotheby’s staff on the phone with their clients and bidders present on the auction floor driving up the price of the lot. A total of eleven bids were made, with the price jumping up rapidly across the first five bids with increments of €5 million.
While the bidding did slow at the €40 million mark, this was followed by a period of smaller bids steadily raising the price as a bidding war broke out between bidders in the room and on the phone. Eventually, after around seven minutes of bidding, the lot was won by a bidder on the phone with the paddle number 6128 for €46,500,000, who will pay a total of around €51.1 after fees.
The origin of this magnificent vehicle dates back to the rebuilding of the German car industry following the Second World War. Realizing the need to rebuild and get back into manufacturing luxury automobiles and racecars, the idea that they would enter motorsport followed in tow, with entry into Formula One being logical.
Mercedes’ goal of producing a race-winning car aligned with the 1954 Formula One season’s regulations, which the German car company realized could benefit them greatly. The more lax rules in building racing cars for that season meant that the company could leverage its wealth and financial strength to produce a superior racing vehicle.
Several major innovations found their way onto the car. It used a highly complex desmodromic valve reciprocating engine system, which improved performance. It also borrowed technology from the BF109 German fighter plane from the Second World War, including its direct fuel injector.
The car also had a purpose-built engine named the M 196, which by the time of its final iteration produced 290 horsepower. The car also had an improved fuel tank that reduced the impact of liquid sloshing and a bizarre gearbox, which, among the many things that it did, reduced the amount of space it took up within the vehicle, reducing weight.
The size issue was important as it had to fit within a specially built car body that rejected conventional Formula One car designs for a streamlined body with a closed-wheel design, where the wheels are inside the car’s body, improving performance on high-speed tracks, but losing out on tracks with tight turns where an open-wheeled design was preferable.
The closed-wheel variant of the W 196 R being raced by Sterling Moss in Monza, Italy in 1965
Two of the streamlined variants being raced at Monza in 1955, with Moss leading and Fangio following. The performance of these closed-wheeled vehicles over their open-wheeled competitors
Regardless of the unconventional design, the car’s performance shined through in France in 1964, where its drivers Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling took home a 1-2 finish on the W196’s debut. Across the 1954 and 1955 seasons, it earned the distinction of being the only closed-wheel Formula One car to win races in France and Italy in 1954 and again in Italy in 1955.
Alternatively, the car had an open-bodied configuration, more traditional to Formula One cars. This came into existence when, at the car’s second race in Britain, it lost as Fangio struggled with high-speed corners, thus necessitating a version with open wheels for other important races, including the most vital, the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.
The legendary Formula One champion Fangio would use this very car, in both configurations, as well as a Maserati, to win the Formula One Drivers Championship in 1954, his second at the time. Fangio would go on to win three more times and become the sixth most accomplished Formula One driver of all time.
Fangio, in the leading car, racing the open-wheeled variant of the W 196R
Aside from Fangio, the car was also driven by British racing legend Stirling Moss, another of the most successful Formula One drivers in history. Originally a privateer racer, he showed promise and was recruited into the Daimler-Benz outfit, where he would race alongside Fangio.
While the two prime drivers were on the same team, this did not mean they received totally identical cars, especially in this more lax era of Formula One rules. In the 1955 season, the medium-wheelbase version of the W 196 R that Moss was driving felt twitchy to him, so he requested a longer one, which turned out to be this very lot.
After a contested season fought between Fangio and Moss, Fangio would end up winning again, but not without this car taking Moss to second place. Thus, this car not only took Fangio to victory in 1954, but Moss to second in 1955, cementing the team’s victorious early history before their exit from the sport later that year due to the disaster at Le Mans.
By 1955, ten W 196 R samples had been built in various configurations, including four with streamlined bodywork, one of which is the lot on sale. This specific one would be partially dismantled and displayed at the Daimler-Benz museum in Germany before being one of four selected to be sent overseas to other museums.
In the mid-1960s, through a connection with the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, this specific car was secured to be displayed at America’s most famous raceway at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, home to the Indy 500.
The car has since been at the American Museum, occasionally making trips out to important car shows on the continent. Its entry onto the auction market marks the only time a W 196 R has ever been available to the private market, and its future owner might be able to drive it following an extensive reconstruction effort.
The car for up auction being shipped off to America in 1965 from Bremerhaven, Germany. On the box is in an inscription that translates to “Gift for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum."