Iconic F1 car sold for eight-figure sum at auction
1st February 2025The Mercedes W196R, driven by both Formula 1 greats Juan Manuel Fangio and Sir Stirling Moss, has been sold for €51m at auction.
Feature image credit: Mercedes-Benz Group
On Saturday, the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Stromlinienwagen – named The Monza Streamline – was on sale at an auction, in Stuttgart, Germany, which has been sold at a staggering eight-figure sum of €51,115,000 [£42,724,472.75].
It is only the second W196R to be offered for private ownership, but the first ever Stromlinienwagen (or ‘Streamliner’) chassis to be made available for private sale. It is one of four known ‘complete examples’ which are mounted with factory-built enclosed-fender Stromlinienwagen – Streamliner – coachwork at the end of the 1955 F1 season.
The vehicle is an iconic car in Formula 1 history, having been driven by both Fangio and Moss, RM Sotheby’s described the car on sale as ‘a gem without parallel.’
There is a new world record price for a Formula 1 car at auction, with a Mercedes W196R Streamliner fetching a whopping €51m.https://t.co/OIBhIa8SYL
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) February 1, 2025
The car, chassis 00009/54, as previously mentioned, was driven by both Fangio and Moss with the former taking victory at the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix. Moss also piloted the F1 machine at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, taking the fastest lap, at the circuit’s banked corner layouts which are no longer in use for modern F1 races.
The car itself was retired from competition in 1955 with Mercedes holding an official ceremony to retire them before transferring the cars to the company’s museum in Stuttgart. After completion of its duties in competition, Mercedes donated the car to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, in 1965, where the car was stored and maintained by their new caretakers.
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
