Mercedes-Benz and racing go hand-in-hand. In spite of everything, it’s one of the vital profitable producers in each pre-war Grand Prix, post-war Formulation 1 and Endurance Racing, birthing many legendary automobiles. From the very early days of motor racing, the model has been energetic in all kinds of classes. It gained the 1914 French Grand Prix with the Blitzen Benz, it gained the Targa Florio in 1922 and 1924, and in 1931 the workforce was victorious within the Mille Miglia with the SSKL. After World Struggle II, they stunning a lot took up the place they left off, as they entered the newly fashioned Formulation One world championship with the W196 in 1954. The workforce had rapid success and took house a number of wins and championships, but it surely was to be short-lived. The 1955 Le Mans crash noticed Mercedes-Benz no different possibility than to withdraw from motorsports fully, ending the W196’s profession. However, it grew to become a real racing legend, and certainly one of solely 4 full W196R Stromlinienwagens is developing for public sale, at an astronomical estimate!
Many tales will be advised concerning the model with the three-pointed star emblem, because it has left an enduring mark on motorsports. The historical past of Mercedes-Benz’s racing actions is well-documented, together with the disastrous incident within the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans that induced a multi-year pause for the German producer. Though it concerned a completely totally different automotive, Mercedes pulled the plug on all its racing endeavours following the tragic occasion of the 1955 race. Jaguar driver Mike Hawthorn slowed down on the principle straight to enter the pits, with Austin-Healey driver Lance Macklin developing behind him.
At the moment, the pits space was mainly simply the fitting facet of the observe, with none barrier or security precautions. Veering out from behind the Jaguar, Macklin steered his automotive into the trail of the oncoming Pierre Levegh, behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (massively counting on the W196 for its chassis and engine). A large crash was inevitable, with Levegh’s automotive flying off into the spectator’s space. The crash was deadly to Levegh and 83 spectators within the stands, injuring 120 extra. To at the present time, it stays one of many darkest days in motorsports and was the only purpose for Mercedes-Benz to cease all its racing applications till the late Sixties. The primary race it entered, was the 24 hours of Spa Francorchamps with the AMG-prepped 300SEL 6.3 V8, in any other case referred to as die Rote Sau, the Pink Swine. The workforce returned to Le Mans in 1985 as an engine provider to Sauber, and Formulation 1 in 1994 as an engine provider to McLaren.
Legends of motor racing
Whereas most instantly consider seven-time F1 world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton in terms of Mercedes, he’s removed from the primary legend to be born behind the wheel of a Stuttgart-built race automotive. Different names embrace Hans Hermann, Karl Kling, Pierro Taruffi, and Rudolf Carraciola. However when Mercedes returned to Formulation 1 in 1954, it was the W196 developed by Rudolph “Rudi” Uhlenhaut that made the headlines. The primary post-war Formulation 1 automotive proved dominant proper out of the gate, because it gained its debut race at Reims. A part of its success got here from the well-balanced chassis and the naturally aspirated 2.5-litre inline-8 up entrance that made roughly 260bhp at first however was pushed to shut to 300bhp over two seasons. This was fitted with direct gasoline injection, giving it a substantial edge over the competitors. However that was not all, as it might additionally change form over its short-lived profession!
The automotive was entered in solely 12 races however gained 9 of them by the hands of the Argentinian Ace, Juan Manuel Fangio, and for the 1955 season with Sir Stirling Moss becoming a member of the ranks. The automotive was primarily based on the W194 (also called the 300 SL, an endurance racing automotive) and made a delayed debut within the French Grand Prix with divers Juan Manuel Fangio, Hans Hermann, Karl Kling and Hermann Lang. Fangio gained 4 races with it that 12 months, on high of the 2 he gained with Maserati previous to his change, which gained him his second of finally 5 driver’s world titles. The next 12 months, Fangio once more grew to become champion with the W196, with Moss coming in second, successful 5 races between the 2 of them.
However the time period ‘legend’ doesn’t solely match with the drivers, as talked about, because it very a lot will be utilized to the automotive. When it lined up for the 1954 French Grand Prix it might be fitted with a low-drag Stromlinien, or Streamliner physique, designed particularly for high-speed tracks. The driving force sat within the center, as he would usually do in a Grand Prix or Formulation 1 automotive. It could win the race, with one other W196 Stromlinienwagen coming in an in depth second. The identical physique sort was used for that 12 months’s British Grand Prix, and the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in each 1954 and 1955. In complete, it gained three races all with Fangio behind the wheel. To at the present time, it stays the one closed-wheel racing automotive to have gained a Formulation 1 race!
Chassis 00009/54
As confirmed, the W196 is certainly one of racing’s greats, not simply in its streamlined configuration however typically. It gained 9 out of 12 races it entered, claimed 17 podium finishes, took house pole 8 instances and quickest lap of the race 9 instances, and on high of that was victorious in the one two championships it competed in! Only a handful have been constructed and every serves as a singular piece of motorsport historical past. Chassis 00009/54 is only one of 4 full automobiles with a factory-built streamlined physique and pushed by each Juan Manuel Fangio and Sir Stirling Moss within the 1955 season. It made its debut as an open-wheel W196 within the 1955 Formulation Libre Buenos Aires Grand Prix, which it gained, and got here with a 3.0 litre inline-8 engine that might later energy the 300 SLR. On the time Formulation 1 mandated an engine of not more than 2,500cc in dimension however the Argentinian Formulation Libre race was a non-championship occasion and infrequently used as a testbed for technical developments and improvements. Throughout official occasions, the two.5-litre engine could be fitted once more.
This explicit W196 gained the 1955 Argentinian Grand Prix with Fangio behind the wheel, and achieved the quickest lap of the race within the 1955 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, with Moss behind the wheel. The #16 racing roundel is Moss’ quantity for the race in Italy, by which he sadly needed to retire as a consequence of engine points. His Argentinian teammate gained the occasion in one other streamlined W196, Pierro Tarrufi coming in second in an open-wheeled W196, and Karl Kling retiring within the fourth Mercedes W196, additionally in open-wheel configuration. That race would additionally mark the fourth and final time the W196 would seem on the beginning grid of any race.
The story of this explicit automotive after it retired is kind of particular, because it was donated by Mercedes-Benz to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 1965, the place it has been one of many museum’s crown jewels ever since. RM Sotheby’s the small print of the donation of this automotive in nice element, regardless of it seeming a bit odd at first given the actual fact the W196 by no means raced on the well-known Brickyard. Nevertheless, the automotive was demonstrated following the annual driver’s assembly main as much as the 1965 Indy 500 occasion, pushed by Peter DePaolo in honour of his father Ralph DePalma’s win 50 years earlier in, you’ve guessed it; a Mercedes-Benz!
The automotive is now developing for public sale for the primary time ever, granting solely the wealthiest of collectors a singular likelihood to personal this wonderful piece of racing historical past. As anticipated, given the automotive’s pedigree and predecessors such because the 300 SLR ‘Uhlenhaut’ setting data, it would value greater than a fairly penny to personal it. RM Sotheby’s will public sale it as a stand-alone sale with Mercedes-Benz, on the producer’s headquarters in Stuttgart, with an estimate of “in extra of EUR 50 Million“. Don’t fear, there’s nonetheless a while to scrape collectively the funds because it’s scheduled to alter possession on Saturday, February 1st 2025.
For extra detailed information concerning the automotive and the public sale, please go to RMSothebys.com.
Editorial Notice: The data used, and pictures portrayed on this article are sourced from and used with permission of RM Sotheby’s until said in any other case.
