Iconic Mercedes W196 R becomes most valuable F1 car ever sold

©Mercedes

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It’s not every day that an F1 car fetches a price that could buy an entire grid of modern racing machines – and then some.

But that’s exactly what happened in Stuttgart on Saturday when a rare Mercedes W196R Grand Prix car went under the hammer for a record-shattering 51.155 million euros ($53.01 million), making it the most valuable F1 car ever sold.

It is now also the second most valuable car of any time sold in the world, only surpassed by the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR ‘Uhlenhaut Coupé’, which was auctioned by RM Sotheby's at the Mercedes-Benz Museum for €135 million in 2022.

A Priceless Piece of Motorsport History

Elite collectors and their representatives converged once again at the Mercedes Museum to bid on the sleek, silver machine – once driven in F1 by motorsport legends Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss.

The car in question, chassis 00009/54, is one of only four surviving W196 R Stromlinienwagen F1 models in existence.

Built for the 1954 Formula 1 season, this beautifully sculpted machine represents the pinnacle of Mercedes’ engineering dominance in the mid-20th century – an era where Fangio and Moss reigned supreme behind the wheel of the mighty Silver Arrows.

This particular chassis was donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Museum by Mercedes back in 1965, where it has resided as a piece of motorsport royalty for nearly six decades.

However, with an eye on future projects, IMS made the difficult decision to part ways with the historic car to fund restoration efforts and acquisitions more focused on American racing history.

"It’s a beautiful car, it’s a very historic car, it’s just a little bit outside our scope window," explained Jason Vansickle, curator at the IMS Museum.

"We’ve been fortunate to be stewards of this vehicle for nearly 60 years, and it has been a great piece in the museum. But with this auction and the proceeds raised, it really will allow us ... to be better in the future."

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Michael Delaney