Historic Mercedes F1 cars have usually been sold for exorbitant amounts at car auctions. Recently, another one of the German brand’s automotive masterpieces fetched an eye-watering price at RM Sotheby’s auction. This time it was the Mercedes W196R ‘Streamliner’, which has become the most expensive Grand Prix car auctioned ever.
The W196R Streamliner, which was driven by five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio, went for a record price of $53 million! The other two Mercedes cars that also fetched an exorbitant price were the 1954 Mercedes W196R ($24.4 million) and the 2013 Mercedes W04 ($18.8 million), per Motorsport.com.
If the prices of all three cars are combined, Mercedes have the top three most expensive F1 cars auctioned, worth a whopping $96.2 million!
But what makes the Streamliner so special, that it even crossed the pre-auction expected price, which was around $50 million?
It is a car that Fangio drove to win the Buenos Aires Grand Prix in 1955. Additionally, the legendary Stirling Moss also got a hand on the W196R Streamliner at the Italian GP. Moss set the fastest lap at ‘the Temple of Speed’ in Monza in this beast by Mercedes, after which the Silver Arrows retired the car to retain it as a historic automotive at their base.
The top three most expensive F1 cars sold at auction pic.twitter.com/HSFG3K2YWK
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) February 4, 2025
Around 10 years later, they donated the Streamliner to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, who have taken care of the chassis with utmost passion. Besides occasional exhibition runs, the Streamliner hasn’t been seen on track much since the ’50s.
So, it makes sense why the buyer, who wishes to stay anonymous, bid so high for this exclusive and rare masterpiece of engineering by Mercedes.
Mercedes F1 cars are the hot buys in auctions
Besides the 1955 Streamliner, the other two Mercedes cars that became quite expensive buys at previous auctions also have historic significance to them. The 1954 Mercedes W196R went for $24.4 million at an auction in Goodwood, England back in 2013.
This can be called the original version of the Streamliner, which helped Mercedes win the 1954 championship with Fangio switching sides from Maserati mid-season. Its high price was due to it being the first Mercedes F1 car to race in the world championship, as 1954 was the year when the German brand first entered the sport.
Juan Manuel Fangio takes on Spa in his Mercedes W196. Belgian GP – 1955. pic.twitter.com/Zp2ZiNtP9y
— Retro Racing Company (@RetroRacingCo) December 25, 2016
Seven decades later when Mercedes rejoined the F1 grid, its cars getting a lot of spotlight was natural. However, it was the 2013 Mercedes W04 that became one of the most expensive Grand Prix cars, at $18.8 million.
The reason behind this was that it was the first car that Lewis Hamilton drove for the Silver Arrows. The W04, in which Hamilton won his first race in Hungary, went under the hammer at another RM Sotheby’s auction in Las Vegas in 2023.
