An extremely rare Mercedes race car driven by both Juan Manuel Fangio and Sir Stirling Moss is headed to auction with an estimated value of €50 million ($52.6 million).

Dating from 1954, it is known as the Mercedes-Benz W196 R. It is one of just four ever built in this specification and, when it goes to auction on February 1, 2025, it will be the first ever offered for private ownership.

To be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s on behalf of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, which has owned the car since 1965, the W196 R features a closed-fender body known in German as Stromlinienwagen, or Streamliner.

The car was driven by future five-time Drivers’ Champion Fangio to victory at the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, then by Moss at that year’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where it achieved the fastest lap. Between them, all 14 examples of the W196 R scored 11 victories from 14 starts—a 78% hit-rate not dissimilar to today’s Red Bull F1 team. The 196 R helped Fangio secure his second straight World Drivers’ Championship, with Moss finishing second.

RM Sotheby’s says, “It is also important to note that the World Constructors’ Championship had not yet been created; had it existed, Mercedes-Benz surely would have won this title, as well.”

MORE FROMFORBES ADVISOR
Graphic Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

By Kevin Payne,Contributor
Graphic Best 5% Interest Savings Accounts of 2024

Best 5% Interest Savings Accounts of 2024

By Cassidy Horton,Contributor

The single-seat 196 R is a close relative to the two-seat Mercedes 300 SLR, which was known internally as the W196 S, and with a larger engine saw Moss dominate the 1955 Mille Miglia road race with co-driver Denis Jenkinson—a feat widely regarded as one of the greater ever in all of world motorsport.

Powered by a 2.5-liter straight-eight engine, the Mercedes W196 R produced 290 bhp and had a top speed in excess of 186 mph, making it one of the fastest Grand Prix cars of its era.

The auction house notes how the car has been “fastidiously stored and maintained” by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. During that time, it attended events including the 1996 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, the 2003 Canadian International AutoShow and the re-opened of the redesigned Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles in 2015. Most recently, the car was part of a Mercedes-Benz display at the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, but has never been submitted for formal judging at a concours event.

RM Sotheby’s explained how the car is “a diamond of extraordinary cut, emitting a brilliance that is almost impossible to fathom.” It added, “The car is one of just 14 chassis built, and it is believed to be one of just 10 known complete examples surviving at the conclusion of the 1955 Formula One season. Of those, this example was one of only four mounted with the magnificent Streamliner coachwork”.

Presented as it was when driven by Moss at Monza for the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, the car will be auctioned at a standalone event at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany on February 1, 2025.