The 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Formula 1 car in the Stromlinienwagen configuration, i.e. with an aerodynamic package for high-speed tracks, was sold at Sotheby's for a fantastic €51,155,000, making it the most expensive Formula 1 car of all time and the second most expensive car ever sold at auction.
There are only four examples of the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R, the particular one with chassis number 00009/54 was used by five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio to win the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix and by the legendary Sir Stirling Moss to set the fastest lap time at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix in Monza. The car was stored at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum for 59 years and was put up for sale by Mercedes-Benz itself. The company usually takes care of such rare cars even after they are sold.
The peculiarity of the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R is that this car uses mechanical direct fuel injection, adapted from the engines of the World War II Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters.
The most expensive car purchased at auction remains the "civilian" version of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (Benz W 196 S, development of the W 196 R, for the endurance championship) - the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, which went under the hammer for $143 million in 2022. There are only two examples of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe in existence.
A terrible accident during the 1955 Le Mans race involving a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR with 84 spectators killed led to the end of the Mercedes-Benz motorsport program until 1985. That is why the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R and Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR are rare and expensive cars.
As a reminder, the same Sotheby's sold the Formal 1 2013 Mercedes W04 chassis #4 for $18.8 million, in which seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton won his first Grand Prix as a member of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team.