Over the past year, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Museum has been leaning out its collection, parting ways with some of the most iconic pieces of motorsport history. Among the latest treasures to go under the hammer is the legendary 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Monza Streamliner, a car as famous for its groundbreaking design as for the legendary drivers who piloted it. This marked the first time a W196R Streamliner was made available to the public, and it fetched a staggering winning bid of nearly $54 million.
The Mercedes-Benz W196R, chassis #00009/54, holds a unique dual identity. During the 1955 Formula 1 season, it competed in an open-wheel configuration, driven by the future racing icon Juan Manuel Fangio. Fangio set the pace for the team by clinching victory at the season opener, the Argentine Grand Prix. His teammate, the yet-to-be-knighted Stirling Moss, finished just off the podium in fourth place.
The 1955 season was truncated, with only seven races held and four cancelled. The final race took place at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. However, the circuit’s new high-speed banks posed a challenge for the open-wheeled Mercedes, prompting the development of an enclosed fender body. Unsurprisingly, the aerodynamic redesign delivered faster lap times. Thus, for the F1 finale, the W196R was transformed into the Monza Streamliner.
While Fangio drove another Mercedes-built Streamliner during the finale, chassis #00009/54 was entrusted to Moss. Although Moss recorded the fastest lap of the race, it was Fangio who secured the victory, claiming his second of five F1 championship titles. Moss finished the season as runner-up to his teammate, while his car became one of only four known to feature the streamlined body style by the end of the F1 season.
A decade later, Mercedes-Benz donated the very car shared by Fangio and Moss in 1955 to the IMS Museum for display.
Chassis #00009/54 remained at the IMS Museum until its recent transfer to Stuttgart, Germany, for a standalone auction at the Mercedes-Benz Museum. Initially estimated to fetch between $50 million and $70 million, the car ultimately sold for 51,155,000 Euros ($53,917,000 USD at the time of the auction), plus a 10% auction fee and a 19% value-added tax (VAT).
Before these additional costs, RM Sotheby’s declared the Monza Streamliner the most valuable Grand Prix car ever sold and the second most valuable car ever sold.
To put a final price to this purchase, including the above-mentioned additional costs, the buyer would have written a check for an astonishing R1.27 billion.