A rare 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Grand Prix car has sold for a staggering €51.2 million (around NZ$94 million), making it one of the most expensive cars ever auctioned.
The sale took place at a special RM Sotheby’s auction at the Mercedes-Benz Museum.
Grand Prix pedigree
The W 196 R, developed to comply with new 2.5-litre Grand Prix regulations in the mid-1950s, was driven by racing icons Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss. Fangio secured three victories in the streamlined version, although the open-wheel variant ultimately achieved greater success.
Unlike traditional Formula One cars of the era, the W 196 R featured a closed-wheel, streamlined body designed for high-speed circuits. Its distinctive shape gave it an endurance racer-like appearance rather than the typical open-wheel Grand Prix design.
Mercedes-Benz originally gifted the car to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 1965.
After nearly 60 years, the museum decided to auction it to fund the expansion and preservation of its extensive 55,000-piece racing collection.
“The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum has been honored to care for and share the W 196 R within our museum, but the sum it has achieved today is a transformative contribution to increase our endowment and long-term sustainability,” said Joe Hale, President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.
A shift in collector car hierarchy
Highly sought-after classic cars, particularly icons like the Ferrari 250 GTO, have long dominated the collector car market.
However, this sale shifts the dynamics, placing the W 196 R just behind the record-setting 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, which sold for US$143 million in 2022 (NZ$252.8 million today).
With prices for historic race cars soaring, could modern-era hypercars like the McLaren F1 one day challenge these astronomical figures?
