- This piece of F1 history has been at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum for 60 years.
- The W 196 R Streamliner secured a victory at its debut race, the 1954 French Grand Prix.
- Canepa Motorsports expertly refurbished chassis 00009/54 in 2015, preserving its legacy.
One of the most iconic Formula 1 cars ever built is making its way to auction, and with an estimated price tag surpassing €50 million (~$52 million), it casts even the most coveted modern F1 cars, those piloted by Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, into the realm of relative affordability.
What we’re looking at here is a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen, a car that was not only driven by two of the most legendary drivers in motorsport history, Juan Manuel Fangio and Sir Stirling Moss, but also one that played a pivotal role in shaping F1’s early legacy.
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Offered by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, this is the first-ever W 196 R available for private ownership. It won’t break the all-time sales record set by a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe at $143 million, but it will probably be the most expensive F1 car ever sold.
Historic Debut
The Mercedes W 196 R ‘Streamliner’ debuted at the 1954 French Grand Prix, with three examples taking to the grid, one of which was driven by Fangio. The car saw immediate success and Fangio secured his second world driver’s championship with it. This particular W 196 R, chassis number 00009/54, made its debut in the 1955 season.
On January 30, 1955, the car was driven by Fangio during the Formula Libre Buenos Aires Grand Prix and claimed victory. It also competed at the Italian Grand Prix of the same year, where it was driven by Moss. The Briton qualified second behind Fangio and, after a strong start, he dropped down to 8th after making a pitstop to replace the windshield. After 27 laps, the car had to be retired because cylinder five was failing.
At the time of the car’s retirement in 1955, there were ten complete W 196 Rs in existence, and all were retained by the Daimler-Benz Museum. Four of these, including chassis 00009/54, were donated to museums around the world. Since 1965, the car has resided at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. It was refurbished in 2015 by the experts at Canepa Motorsports and still has its livery from the 1955 Italian Grand Prix.
RM Sotheby’s is overseeing the sale, with the auction scheduled for February 1, 2025, in Stuttgart. You can find more details and view the listing here.
