A Mercedes-Benz W196R which was driven to victory at the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix by Juan Manuel Fangio and set the fastest lap at Monza with Stirling Moss behind the wheel will soon be in the hands of a private buyer.
When the hammer falls at the RM Sotheby’s X Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum sale on 1 February 2025 chassis number 00009/54 will become the first Streamliner-bodied W196R in private ownership.
This storied automobile was designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut for Formula 1’s new 1954 regulations and was built around a narrow-diameter tubular steel space frame evolved from the W194 300SL. Double wishbone independent front suspension was installed, while Uhlenhaut developed a unique swing-axle rear end. Inboard Alfin drums providing stopping power.
Making the W196R move was a 2494 cc straight-eight with dry-sump lubrication, dual ignition and desmodromic valve gear. Bosch provided high-pressure fuel injection and when it made its debut the engine produced 257 horsepower, with later fettling increasing it to 290hp.
The best race engineers always work right to the edge of the rules, but for the 1954 season F1 was pretty relaxed on bodywork. Uhlenhaut and Mercedes’ racing department director Dr. Fritz Nallinger determined that two distinct styles of W196 would be raced. For the more tortuous circuits a traditional torpedo-shaped open-wheel car would be used, but for high-speed tracks a streamlined closed-wheel version was the answer.
The coachwork was constructed from exotic Elektron magnesium alloy and weighed just 88 pounds and the Stromlinienwagen (streamlined car) would alternate with its open-wheeled stablemate during the 1954 and 1955 Grand Prix seasons.
The streamliner made a dramatic debut at the French Grand Prix at Reims with Fangio, Karl Kling and Hans Herrmann qualifying first, second and seventh. Fangio and Kling took a one-two finish. Fangio would go on to take his second drivers’ championship, having made the switch to Mercedes from Maserati.
In 1955, when the car for sale was readied for competition, Fangio took the win in Buenos Aires. Soon after Moss joined the Mercedes team and qualified on the front row behind team mate Fangio at Monza. The British driver unfortunately failed to finish, although he did secure the fastest lap of the race. The W196R meanwhile gave Fangio another world title.
That year marked the end of the W196R, and, of 14 examples built, ten remained in working order. Four cars were later given to museums around the world including this car which went on display at Indianapolis. During its six decades of care by the IMS Museum the car has undergone two rounds of refreshing and is being offered for sale with correct documentation and “a trove of period materials.”
Bidding is expected to begin at €50 million.
