One of the most legendary F1 cars of all time: this Mercedes could fetch R1 billion
The 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen holds the distinction of having been driven by two of Formula One’s greatest drivers, and it could be yours for around R1 billion.
The Stromlinienwagen was driven to victory by Juan Manual Fangio at the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix and that same year achieved the fastest lap at the Monza Grand Prix with Sir Stirling Moss behind the wheel.
As the first Streamliner-bodied W 196 R to ever be offered for private ownership, the car currently forms part of a collection at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.
It’s being auctioned by RM Sotheby’s and media reports abroad suggest it could go under the hammer for more than $55 million (R996 million). It will be auctioned at an exclusive event at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, on February 1, 2025.
Chassis No. 00009/54 is one of four known complete examples mounted with the exquisite factory-built enclosed-fender Stromlinienwagen coachwork.
The Mercedes W 196 R was developed to meet the ‘new’ 1954 regulations and soon proved to be the car to beat in the hands of legends such as Fangio and Moss.
It features a 2,494cc straight-eight engine, designed around a complex Hirth roller-bearing crankshaft. After two seasons of development, it was capable of producing 216kW.
As regulations at the time specified few limitations to the vehicle body, Mercedes decided to run two body types, with the more aerodynamic closed wheel design that you see here being reserved for high-speed courses and the more traditional open-wheel bodies retained for the twistier circuits.
“Chassis number 00009/54 represents only the second W 196 R ever offered for private ownership, and the first example offered with the magnificent Streamliner coachwork. It is presented in its proper Monza livery from the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, and documented with a trove of period materials,” auction house RM Sotheby’s said.
IOL