$85 million: Mercedes F1 classic becomes most expensive racing car ever sold

This vintage machine with impressive history sold for a record-breaking price.

A classic Mercedes F1 car has set a new record, selling for $A85.3 million (€51.15 million) at a recent auction, making it the most expensive Grand Prix racing car ever sold.

One of the world’s most historically significant racing cars, the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen was purchased by an unnamed buyer during the auction run by RM Sotheby’s at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.

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A classic Mercedes-Benz W 196 R sold for an enormous price. Picture: Supplied

The result also makes the W 196 R the second most valuable car ever in the world, only to be surpassed by the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR “Uhlenhaut Coupé which was sold for $A203 million (€135 million) in May 2022.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is using the proceeds from the sale to support restoration projects. Photo: Maximilian Balazs

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The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, which auctioned off the car, plans to use the proceeds from the sale to support its collection and restoration projects.

“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,” RM Sotheby’s Global Head of auctions Gord Duff explained.

There was interest from serious collectors from across the globe. Photo: Maximilian Balazs

Transfer of the Silver Arrow into the museum. Photo: Maximilian Balazs.

This particular car, chassis number 00009/54, is only one of four complete examples in existence and was the last Grand Prix car to be built by Mercedes until they return in 2010.

“This makes it the most valuable Grand Prix racing car in the world and close behind the all-time champion Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR ‘Uhlenhaut-Coupé’ in the overall ranking of the most valuable automobiles,” Marcus Breitschwerdt, head of Mercedes-Benz heritage said in a statement.

Built for the 1954 Formula 1 season, the W196 was developed to meet the new regulations for engines with up to 2.5 litre displacement.

However, the W196 was delayed until the fourth race of the 1954 F1 season, making its debut at the French Grand Prix, where it secured a dominant 1-2 finish.

The W196 R Stromlinienwagen, recognised for its sleek design and technological innovations, was the peak of Mercedes’ engineering dominance in the mid-20th century.

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The W196 R dominated the two F1 sessions it raced. Picture: Supplied.

Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Grand Prix racing car, driven by Stirling Moss, photo taken in a banked curve on the Monza racetrack. Picture: Supplied.

In the hands of five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss, it won nine of 12 races it entered and captured the only two world championships in which it competed.

At the end of the 1955 F1 season, the German manufacturer withdrew from the motorsport following the disaster at the 24 Hour of Le Mans which killed Pierre Levegh and over 80 spectators.

It would be the last time Mercedes-Benz competed as a constructor until the team’s revival in 2010, when its parent company, Daimler, acquired a 45 per cent stake in Brawn GP.

Since then, the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team has won eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships from 2014 to 2021, along with eight Drivers’ Championships — seven with Lewis Hamilton and one with Nico Rosberg.