$70 million Mercedes leads auction of iconic racing cars
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is preparing to auction a collection of historic cars, including the legendary 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 Streamliner. This iconic vehicle, driven by renowned racers Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss, is estimated to fetch between $50 million and $70 million. The auction will be conducted by RM Sotheby's, a leading global auction house specializing in collector cars.
Streamliner's historic racing legacy
The 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 Streamliner has a rich racing history. Fangio first drove the car in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before Moss took over at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix in Monza, where he set the fastest lap record. The auction will also feature other historic vehicles such as a 1964 Ferrari 250LM and a 1957 Chevrolet Corvette SS Project XP64 with a magnesium body.
Other historic cars to be auctioned
The auction will also feature a 1966 Ford GT40 MkII and early racing cars like a 1907 Itala, a 1911 Laurin & Klement Racer with early active aerodynamics technology, and a 1909 Mercedes Brookland "Semmering Hill Climb." The Sonic I, in which Craig Breedlove set the land speed record five times and his wife Lee set the women's land speed record, is also part of this prestigious collection up for auction.
Auction proceeds to fund museum's future endeavors
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum has decided to auction these cars as they are not directly linked to the Indianapolis 500 or Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The proceeds from the auction will be used to enhance the museum's endowment, facilitate restoration and maintenance of its remaining collection, and acquire more artifacts that narrate the story of the Indianapolis 500 and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Historic cars have been fetching high prices recently
The market for historic cars has seen high prices in recent years. In 2022, a rare 1955 Mercedes-Benz SLR coupe from the German automaker's collection was sold to a private buyer for €135 million. This sale set a new record for the most expensive car ever sold, surpassing the previous record of $70 million set by David MacNeil for a Ferrari 250 GTO in 2018.
