Iconic 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Sells for $54M, Making It World’s Most Expensive Grand Prix Car

For the past year, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Museum has been cleaning house, downsizing its collection of iconic, unmatched pieces of motorsports history. The most recent hero to hear the hammer drop is a vehicle infamous for its design as much as for its drivers, the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Monza Streamliner. Marking the first time a W196R Streamliner was offered to the public, the winning bid was nearly $54 million.

Putting the hype in hyperbole, the IMS Museum’s auction list through RM Sotheby’s is a who’s-who of auto racing heritage. The chassis #00009/54 Mercedes-Benz W196R has a bit of a dual identity. For the 1955 Formula 1 season, the vehicle featured an open-wheel configuration for competition. At the helm was future racing legend Juan Manuel Fangio. Fangio set the tone for the race team by winning the season opener, the Argentine Grand Prix. Just off the podium in fourth was teammate and yet-to-be-knighted Stirling Moss.

That 1955 season would see only seven races, with four being canceled. The final race would be the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. However, the circuit now featured new high-speed banks, which meant slower speeds for the open-wheeled Benz. An enclosed fender body was developed, and, no surprise, the aerodynamic car returned faster times. So, for the F1 finale, the W196R became the Monza Streamliner.

As it would happen, Fangio was driving another Benz-built Streamliner while chassis #00009/54 was now under the steady hands of Moss. Although Moss would record the fastest lap, it was Fangio who won the season finale as well as his second of five F1 championship crowns. Moss finished the season behind his teammate while his race car was one of four known to have that streamlined body style when the F1 year concluded.

Just 10 years later, Mercedes-Benz would donate the very car Fangio and Moss shared in 1955 to the IMS Museum for exhibition. According to RM Sotheby’s, there was a connection as the German automaker had won the Indianapolis 500 a few times. But the main reason for gifting the Streamliner appears to simply be an appreciation of the raceway’s new owner and his ambitions of bringing racing back to Indy. 

And that’s where chassis #00009/54 has been until a transfer to Stuttgart, Germany, for a standalone auction held at the Mercedes-Benz Museum. Its initial estimated value ranged from $50 million to $70 million. The vehicle sold for 51,155,000 Euros ($53,917,000 USD at the time of the auction) plus 10% in auction fees and a 19% value-added tax (VAT). Before the extras, though, RM Sotheby’s says the Monza Streamliner is the most valuable Grand Prix vehicle ever sold.

As mentioned in previous coverage of the IMS Museum’s auctions, proceeds will go toward the museum endowment as the facility undergoes renovations and refocuses its collection and exhibits to better reflect the IMS and the Indianapolis 500.

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