The Mercedes Stromlinienwagen makes auction history
There is a different world within the automotive landscape. For many, the concept of a supercar expresses one's success. Following supercars comes the hypercar— an idea that encapsulates the best of the best on four wheels. But the world of collectors reaches far beyond the price tag of a new vehicle, even with the likes of the Bugatti La Voiture Noire at R252m and the Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail that fetched over R560m. These numbers might well make your jaw drop to the floor, but in the realm of classics, the bar is raised significantly higher.
The year was 1954, and Mercedes needed a competitive Grand Prix car for the 1954 season, so the W196 Stromlinienwagen was the result. On its debut at the French GP, it took home first and second place. Now the car in question goes by chassis no. 00009/54 and only began its life in December of 1954, when the test began in an open-wheeled variation of the W196. In January of 1955, it participated in a racing event outside of F1 with Juan Manuel Fangio behind the wheel.
This rocket of a racing car had a 3.0-litre M196 block underneath, and it was paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox. It sported a streamlined magnesium body that weighed a touch over 40kg and was made in extremely limited numbers. Although the concept proved promising, its last drive was in 1955 at the Italian Grand Prix, where Sir Sterling Moss retired the car after an issue with cylinder number five. Although an early departure was disappointing for the team, the car achieved the fastest lap of the race with a top speed of 216kmh.
The car began its museum-destined journey in 1965 when the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart sold the model to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum owing to their impressive restoration abilities, which is where the car has sat over the years.
Now the car has recently been sold again, but this time around the results were rather shocking. At a price of R1.082 billion, the W196 is now the second most expensive car ever sold and once again gives Mercedes-Benz first and second place in the world of car sales. The current most expensive car in the world is the Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, which was sold in 2022 for R2.681 billion, which is an utterly spectacular price tag. What this also means is that the famous 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO now falls into third place behind the two Mercs. It’s an iconic moment for motoring and opens the door to ever-higher prices for iconic masterpieces in the future.