Driven by Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss, the first Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen (Streamliner – streamlined bodywork) was sold by RM Sotheby’s for €51,155,000 at auction on February 1st in Germany (Stuttgart). During this RM Sotheby’s sale, organized with the support of Mercedes-Benz Heritage, the price reached by the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R exceeded its estimate, as expected, to become one of the most expensive cars in the world.
It is a piece of automobile history and motor sports that was sold. Indeed, the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R type gave the star brand 11 victories in the 14 events in which it was entered in F1. Notably, this W 196 R Stromlinienwagen evolved at the time, depending on the events, with “closed” bodywork for optimized aerodynamics or bodywork exposing the wheels for more winding circuits.Soon, Bernie Ecclestone will sell his collection of Formula 1 cars and other single-seaters.
Since 1965, following a donation by Mercedes-Benz, the W 196 R Stromlinienwagen (with streamlined bodywork) with chassis 00009/54 was owned by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation.
In races, from its first engagement in 1955, the W 196 R chassis 00009/54 enabled Juan Manuel Fangio to win the Argentinian F1 GP (Buenos Aires).
In that same year, 1955, thanks to this chassis 00009/54, Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss respectively finished 1st and 2nd in the Drivers’ standings of the Formula 1 World Championship.
Regarding the precise configuration in which this F1 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R chassis 00009/54 was sold, it is the one from the 1955 Italian GP, with this same chassis 00009/54 being entrusted to Stirling Moss for the Monza event.
For more information and to discover many other photos of the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen, as well as archive images, simply click on the image below to access the RM Sotheby’s website.
In terms of engine, this incredible Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen develops 290 hp from an 8-cylinder inline engine with a displacement of 2,494 cc. Speaking of the different types of bodywork of the W 196 R, only 4 of them were equipped with the famous Stromlinienwagen (Streamliner) bodywork.
Finally, after the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe (pictured above) from 1955, which is, to date, the most expensive car in the world sold for €135M in 2022, the W 196 R Stromlinienwagen chassis 00009/54 logically reached new heights by being sold for €51,155,000.
The Editorial Team
Photos: Mercedes-Benz and RM Sotheby’s
