In astandalone auction run by RM Sotheby’sat the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, the first Streamliner-bodied W196 Rever offered for private ownership has fetched impressive €51,155,000 ($53,017,370 US) As well as the most valuable Grand Prix car ever sold, the car sits as the second most valuable ever sold at public auction The car has been sold by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum to benefit its collection and restoration efforts This makes the car the second most expensive car ever sold, only surpassed by the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR “Uhlenhaut Coupé” which RM Sotheby’ssold for €135 million in 2022 One of the world’smost historically significant racing cars, the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 RStromlinienwagen, chassis number 00009/54, has been auctioned by RM Sotheby’stoday at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

The vehicle had been donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 1965 by the then Daimler-Benz AG. Today, the car realised €51,155,000 when it crossed the block in the exclusive single car auction. Attracting interest from serious collectors across the globe, the W196 Rwas subject to aheated bidding battle over the phones and in person, before the auctioneer brought the hammer down at aselling price that makes it the second most valuable car to be sold at auction.

Few historic racing cars resonate as strongly as the famous Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows that dominated Grand Prix racing in the immediate pre- and post-war era, admired for their advanced technology and spectacular speed. The W196 Rwas developed to meet the new regulations for engines with up to 2.5litre displacement introduced in 1954, and it soon proved to be the car to beat in the hands of legends such as Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss.

The sale of the W196 Rtook place earlier today on 1February in the same room that witnessed the sale of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR “Uhlenhaut Coupé” which sold in 2022 for €135,000,000, making it the most valuable car ever sold at auction.

The result of the sale clearly identifies Mercedes-Benz at the peak of the collector car market. “What athrilling auction that was!

This original, sleek-bodied, W196 Roriginal has now changed hands – and Icongratulate the lucky buyer. Very few Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows are privately owned. Today the hammer fell at €51,155,000/ $53,017,370 US making this racing car the world’ssecond most valuable car – hot on the heels of the all-time champ, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR ’Uhlenhaut Coupé’.

Without adoubt, our Silver Arrows are up there among the most iconic and sought-after vehicles ever built. They are the true shining stars in the firmament of motorsport and automotive history.” - Marcus Breitschwerdt, CEO Mercedes-Benz Heritage GmbH “It’shard to describe the significance of this sale. This car is simply one of the most important racing cars in history and it’san honour for RM Sotheby’sto sell it so successfully to benefit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.” - Gord Duff, RM Sotheby’s, Global Head of auctions “The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum has been honored to care for and share the W196 Rwithin our museum, but the sum it has achieved today is a transformative contribution to increase our endowment and long-term sustainability as well as the restoration and expansion of our collection.” - Joe Hale, President, The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.

(Press Release)