Automakers had few design restraints within the early years of Components One, earlier than stringent laws turned the automobiles into thinly veiled copies of one another. Mercedes-Benz took that chance within the mid-fifties to create the W 196 R, an open-seat race automotive that might put on streamlined bodywork. It was known as the Stromlinienwagen, and RM Sotheby’s is promoting one with an unbelievable pedigree.
The automotive made its racing debut on the Buenos Aires Grand Prix in January 1955 with Juan Manuel Fangio piloting the No. 9 chassis to a 1-2 victory. The automotive would conclude its racing profession with one other 1-2 win with Sir Stirling Moss on the wheel, incomes the quickest lap on the 1955 Italian Grand Prix.
Mercedes initially retained all 10 remaining W 196 examples after their campaigns and saved them in operating order. Nonetheless, it’d ultimately donate 4 of the automobiles, together with chassis No. 9. The automotive discovered a brand new residence on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Basis, the place it has been ever since, present process two refinishes all through its life.
In line with RM Sotheby’s, that is the one Stromlinienwagen ever supplied on the market to a personal buyer, and it’s certainly one of 4 identified W 196 Rs to have the streamlined bodywork on the finish of the 1955 F1 season. RM pegs its worth “In extra of $55,000,000.”
The public sale comes simply two years after a Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe—certainly one of simply two in existence—was ought for a staggering $143 million, making it the costliest car on the planet. Whereas this W 196 is not as uncommon, its historical past within the racing house is unmatched. We do not doubt that worth estimating in the slightest.
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