Most Valuable Grand Prix Car Ever Sold: The 1954 Mercedes Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen sells for €51,155,000

• In a standalone auction run by RM Sotheby’s at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, the first Streamliner-bodied W 196 R ever offered for private ownership has fetched impressive €51,155,000 ($53,017,370 US)
• As well as the most valuable Grand Prix car ever sold, the car sits as the second most valuable ever sold at public auction
• The car has been sold by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum to benefit its collection and restoration efforts
• This makes the car the second most expensive car ever sold, only surpassed by the 1955
  Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR “Uhlenhaut Coupé” which RM Sotheby’s sold for €135 million in 2022

STUTTGART, GERMANY – February 2, 2025 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – One of the world’s most historically significant racing cars, the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen, chassis number 00009/54, has been auctioned by RM Sotheby’s today at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. The vehicle had been donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 1965 by the then Daimler-Benz AG. Today, the car realised €51,155,000  when it crossed the block in the exclusive single car auction.

Attracting interest from serious collectors across the globe, the W 196 R was subject to a heated bidding battle over the phones and in person, before the auctioneer brought the hammer down at a selling price that makes it the second most valuable car to be sold at auction.

Few historic racing cars resonate as strongly as the famous Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows that dominated Grand Prix racing in the immediate pre- and post-war era, admired for their advanced technology and spectacular speed. The W 196 R was developed to meet the new regulations for engines with up to 2.5 litre displacement introduced in 1954, and it soon proved to be the car to beat in the hands of legends such as Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss.

The sale of the W 196 R took place earlier today on 1 February in the same room that witnessed the sale of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR “Uhlenhaut Coupé” which sold in 2022 for €135,000,000, making it the most valuable car ever sold at auction. The result of the sale clearly identifies Mercedes-Benz at the peak of the collector car market.

“What a thrilling auction that was! This original, sleek-bodied, W 196 R original has now changed hands – and I congratulate the lucky buyer. Very few Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows are privately owned. Today the hammer fell at €51,155,000/ $53,017,370 US making this racing car the world’s second most valuable car – hot on the heels of the all-time champ, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR ’Uhlenhaut Coupé’. Without a doubt, our Silver Arrows are up there among the most iconic and sought-after vehicles ever built. They are the true shining stars in the firmament of motorsport and automotive history.”

Marcus Breitschwerdt, CEO Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH

“It’s hard to describe the significance of this sale. This car is simply one of the most important racing cars in history and it’s an honour for RM Sotheby’s to sell it so successfully to benefit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.”

Gord Duff, RM Sotheby’s, Global Head of auctions

“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 as well as the restoration and expansion of our collection.”

Joe Hale, President, The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum

For more information, please visit www.rmsothebys.com.

About RM Sotheby’s

RM Sotheby’s is the world’s largest collector car auction house by total sales. With over 40 years of proven results in the collector car industry, RM’s vertically integrated range of services, from auctions (live and online) and private sales to estate planning and financial services, coupled with an expert team of Car Specialists and an international footprint, provide an unsurpassed level of service to the global collector car market. RM Sotheby’s is currently responsible for six of the top ten most valuable motor cars ever sold at auction.

Media Information

For further information and interview opportunities, please contact a member of RM Sotheby’s PR department.

About the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum represents more than a century of motorsports history and is driven by its mission to celebrate and preserve the history behind the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500. Since 1956 when the IMS Museum first opened, it has brought to life the innovation, thrill, and cultural significance of motor racing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. What began with only 12 cars on display has become one of the world’s premier collections of racing automobiles and artifacts – with more than 55,000 artifacts and over 150 vehicles. The IMS Museum ignites curiosity, sparks discovery, and embraces tradition.

RM Sotheby’s Media Contacts

UK/Europe:

Peter Haynes | [email protected] | +44 (0) 7738 883 259

William Driscoll | [email protected] | +44 (0) 7946 038 161

North America:

Ethan Gibson | [email protected] | +1 517 438 2247

Natalie Cieslak | [email protected] | +1 248 794 4257

Photography Information

© Mercedes-Benz

About Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH

“Heritage creates future” – committed to this guiding principle, Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz AG, is responsible for the entire range of historical topics relating to the brand with the star. Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH is amongst others responsible for the Mercedes-Benz Museum, Mercedes-Benz Classic Center, Mercedes-Benz Archives & Collections and Mercedes-Benz Classic Club Management.

Mercedes-Benz Heritage Media Contacts:

Julia Löwenstein, +49 (0) 151 58 610 215, [email protected]

Frank Scheibner, +49 (0) 160 8 680 266, [email protected]

Press photos of the auction: https://mercedes-benz-archive.com/marsMuseum/de/instance/ko/Februar–W196R-RM-Sothebys-Versteigerung.xhtml?oid=192557523

Enquiries by email to [email protected] or online at www.mercedes-benz.com/classic

Press photographs and more press releases: media.mercedes-benz.com

Further research and multimedia material: mercedes-benz-archive.com/museum

Mercedes-Benz Classic on social media:

www.instagram.com/mercedesbenzmuseum

www.facebook.com/mercedesbenzmuseum

Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH

“Heritage creates future” – committed to this guiding principle, Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, oversees the entire spectrum of historical topics related to the brand with the star through various divisions.

The Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, one of the most renowned and popular automobile museums in the world, comprehensively presents the fascinating history of the automobile since its invention in 1886 and uniquely brings the brand’s history to life for a wide audience. Other historically significant sites for the brand include the Gottlieb Daimler Memorial in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, Gottlieb Daimler’s birthplace in Schorndorf and the Carl Benz House in Ladenburg.

The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Fellbach serves as a competence centre for classic cars with the star. In addition to an exclusive vehicle trade, experts provide services and restorations for classic Mercedes-Benz vehicles and are the primary point of contact for original parts. With access to original vehicle documentation in the archives, which preserve and document extensive testimonies to the history of the company and the brand, Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH possesses a globally unique and unparalleled knowledge base.

To make the special history of Mercedes-Benz tangible, Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH participates in numerous prestigious historical automobile events and trade fairs around the world. For this purpose, classics from the collection of over 1,000 vehicles are available. In addition to communicating the brand’s history, the focus is on exchanging ideas with recognized Mercedes-Benz brand clubs and the classic community.

Source: RM Sotheby’s

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