Take a check, sign it and put a number with many zeros behind it. Because we don’t believe that the next owner of the Mercedes W 196 R “Stromlinienrennwagen” will be made to pronounce the name of the car he is about to take home. The luck of someone who has more than 50 million dollars to invest in a car, we imagine.
Because that is the minimum price that anyone who aspires to take home this magnificent 1955 Formula car should pay. The car will go up for auction on February 1 and the well-known auction house RM Sotheby’s anticipates a sale price of between 50 and 70 million dollars. That is, we are talking about a range between 47.5 and 66 million euros.
The auction will be an event in itself because this time there will be no more lots of vehicles or any other piece that could overshadow the legendary German Formula 1. In fact, it will take place in the Mercedes museum in Stuttgart (for that alone it is worth a visit) and for that reason the auction house already warns that the new owner will have to pay the corresponding customs to take it to their country.
The car is, at the moment, property of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum (IMS) who has maintained it since 1965 when it was donated by Mercedes. Its exhaustive care and the fact that it is only one of the ten units manufactured form an explosive cocktail with the flavor of tens of millions of euros.
A look at the past
Whoever keeps the car will be able to boast that they have a unique car at home. We are not talking about a metaphorical sense that refers to its extreme rarity. We talk about it being the first and only Mercedes W 196 R Stromlinienrennwagen under the mantle of private hands.
It is known that there is a Mercedes W 196 R that is also maintained by a private person but this one is not from bodywork Stromlinienrennwagenwhich is a differential for this Formula 1 to be at least 50 million euros. RM Sotheby’s explains that 14 Mercedes W 196 R were built to compete in Formula 1, of which a dozen survived. Of these, only four were Stromlinienrennwagen.
What are we talking about?
After World War II, Mercedes was forced to work on the reconstruction of Germany but soon again targeted the richest. The movement was similar to what Porsche made with the launch of its 911. In a devastated country, both companies targeted the elites to mark a before and after in their history.
Mercedes presented the Mercedes 300 SL, a car that also allowed it to return to racing and, with it, regain its popularity among the richest and improve its cars based on continuous investments in the world of competition. It was the 50s and the company had decided to return to Formula 1.
The plan was cut short by a suspension of competition by the FIA in 1952 and 1953. But in 1954the silver arrows took the start again in the Formula 1 championship. Using the chassis of the Mercedes W 194 300 SL, the Mercedes W 196 R was born.
On its return to competition, Mercedes chose to mount a gigantic eight-cylinder in-line that, in reality, were two independent tetra-cylinders, arranged one after the other. In the two seasons in which the car competed, it went from 257 to 290 HP.
The regulations hardly placed any restrictions and the car used different bodies depending on the Grand Prix it was facing. In fact, it had covered wheels in the fastest tests and visible wheels in the twistiest circuits. From there was born the Stromlinienwagenthe most aerodynamic version of the silver arrow that RM Sotheby’s claims reached 186 mph (300 km/h no more and no less) in competition.
Not just anyone could tame such a beast. And at Mercedes they saw clearly that if they wanted to win they had to attract the best. You may be familiar with the names of Juan Manuel Fangio and Sir Stirling Mosswho drove the Mercedes W 196 R in 1955. The previous year, the Argentine driver had already gotten behind the wheel of the silver arrow so he knew well what he would have on his hands when he got behind the wheel of the Mercedes W 196 R 00009/ 54 (which refers to the ninth unit manufactured and the year of manufacture).
Both geniuses helped perfect a car that in two seasons made 12 appearances in Formula 1, winning nine of them, and appearing in two other exhibition Grands Prix (they did not distribute points) but in which they also won. The bodywork Stromlinienwagen It became famous for reaching heart-stopping speeds.
Ten years after the feat, in 1965, the president of Mercedes donated the car to the American circuit “in view of the special importance of Indianapolis in the history of automobile racing.” Since then, the unit piloted by these two geniuses has been treated with all the care that could be expected.
On February 1 we will find out how much the enthusiast who puts the most money on the table has paid for it. By paying the minimum price of 45 million dollars, you will automatically become the second most expensive Mercedes in history. Ahead of, indeed, another Mercedes W 196 R, but this one without a body Stromlinienwagen.
Photos | RM Sotheby’s
In Xataka | The Mercedes T80, the car mounted on the engine of a fighter with which Hitler wanted to reach 750 km/h
Add Comment