Legendary Mercedes F1 car attracts $84 million price tag

Set to go under the hammer in May, the race winner is expected to exceed $84 million (€50 million).

The specific car in question, chassis 00009/54, was raced by both Fangio and Sir Stirling Moss.

Moss used the car in its streamlined configuration (Stromlinienwagen, as the variant was officially known) at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, which Fangio won in a similarly configured W196.

Fangio had taken the chassis to his homeland earlier in the year where it was raced as an open-wheeler in the Buenos Aries Grand Prix – a Formula Libre event that saw the engine from the Mercedes 300 SLR sportscar variant fitted.

Fangio won the race from Moss, who was also aboard a W196.

The Mercedes W196 dominated the world championship in 1954 and 1955, as it returned to Formula 1 regulations.

With few bodywork regulations, Mercedes saw an opportunity to enclose the wheels to afford a more streamlined body – the 1950s was an era before aerodynamics was well understood.

Another variant, with open-wheels, was also designed for use on tighter circuits where top speed was less of a priority, the two designs used interchangeably throughout the two years in which Mercedes competed.

Over its life, chassis 0009/54 had an improved straight-eight engine fitted, including a new intake manifold and the decision to swap it to open-wheel configuration – saving about 70 kilograms of weight in the process.

Across its two years of competition, the W196 secured 11 wins from 14 starts, including two non-championship races.

It also secured three world championships; two world drivers’ titles (there was no constructors’ championship at the time) and the World Sportscar Championship in 1955 when badged as the 300 SLR (though internally designated the W196 S).

At the end of 1955, of the 14 built, a total of 10 W196s remained; four in Stromlinienwagen configuration. The car was donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 1965.

The car today has been restored to its original paintwork and number as it raced at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix with its sale only the second time a W196 has been offered for private sale, and the first Stromlinienwagen example.