A 1955 Mercedes raced by System One greats Juan Manuel Fangio and Sir Stirling Moss has offered at public sale for €51.15 million (£42.7 million), setting a brand new document for a grand prix automotive.
The uncommon, streamlined silver W196 R Stromlinienwagen, one in all solely 4 full examples in existence, was the final grand prix automotive constructed by Mercedes till 2010 because the German producer withdrew from motorsport on the finish of the 1955 season following the Le Mans 24 Hours catastrophe which killed 83 spectators and injured round 120 extra.
It was offered by RM Sotheby’s on the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, on behalf of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS).
The automotive had a worth estimate of greater than €50 million and the bidding quickly reached €40 million in €5 million increments however eased off earlier than a remaining hammer determine of €46.5 million. The ultimate worth consists of the patrons’ premium. The client was not instantly named.
The ultimate worth fell a good distance in need of the document for costliest automotive ever offered at public sale, which was a 1955 Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé that modified palms for €135 million in Might 2022.
The costliest grand prix automotive beforehand offered at public sale was one other automotive of Fangio’s, , which fetched $29.6 million at Goodwood, England, in 2013. The IMS automotive was the primary W196 R to grow to be accessible for personal possession with the streamlined physique fitted.
The automotive was pushed to victory by the five-time world champion Fangio on the non-championship Buenos Aires grand prix in 1955, however with a extra standard cigar-shaped physique on the identical chassis, and totally open wheels.
The Argentine’s team-mate, Moss, then raced it with the broader, streamlined physique extending over the wheels on the season-ending Italian grand prix at Monza, retiring after setting the quickest lap at a median velocity of 134mph.
That grand prix marked the tip of an period for the Mercedes secure’s Silver Arrows, because the producer withdrew from factory-sponsored motorsport on the finish of that yr, returning to sports activities automotive racing solely within the mid Nineteen Eighties, initially as an engine provider. Mercedes returned to System One as an engine supplier in 1994 and with its personal works crew from 2010.
The automotive offered on Saturday, chassis quantity 00009/54, had been donated to the IMS by Mercedes in 1965 and was auctioned to boost funds for the museum’s restoration efforts and acquisitions with extra of a US focus.
“It’s a fantastic automotive, it’s a really historic automotive, it’s just a bit bit outdoors our scope window,” mentioned curator Jason Vansickle. “We’ve been lucky to be stewards of this car for practically 60 years and it has been an amazing piece within the museum however, with this public sale and the proceeds raised, it actually will permit us … to be higher sooner or later.”
