Sir stirling moss mercedes
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It was the last grand prix car built by Mercedes until its return to motorsport in 2010, following the company’s withdrawal after the 1955 Le Mans 24 Hours tragedy, which saw 83 spectators killed. Meanwhile, the exterior of the car is presented in the Monza livery from the 1955 Italian Grand Prix – the last race it competed in.
In 1965, the car was donated by Mercedes-Benz to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum and has been in fastidious care for the last 59 years.
Now, however, the Mercedes will be going under the hammer at a sale conducted by RM Sotheby’s in collaboration with the museum.
The car was sold on behalf of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), which had owned it since Mercedes donated it in 1965.
The bidding began with a strong momentum, quickly reaching €40 million, but slowed before ultimately closing at €46.5 million, including buyer’s premiums. The car has since gone under the hammer for €51.15m (£42.75m), making it the most expensive Grand Prix car ever sold.
Mercedes 500SL Owned by Sir Stirling Moss Is up for Grabs
The time to find an R129-generation Mercedes-Benz SL-Class may have passed about a decade and a half ago, when they were merely "used sports cars."
Now, Mercedes' premier roadster of the 1990s is in a slightly different category—the category where you have to spend some money to secure a minty example, with the top SLs having been largely picked over.
But could racing legend ownership history push an SL's value substantially higher?
Taking place from February 1 in Stuttgart, Germany, the sale will see 11 of the museum’s ‘landmark automobiles’ go up for auction.
As well as the Mercedes W 196 R Formula One car, the sale also includes a Le Mans-winning Ferrari 250 LM and a 1991 Benetton B191 Formula 1 car driven by Michael Schumacher during his first full season at Benetton Racing.
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Mercedes F1 car raced by Fangio and Moss sells for record £42.75m at auction
A Mercedes Formula 1 car raced by World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio and F1 legend Stirling Moss has sold at auction for a record £42.75m.
The 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen – one of just four of the model to feature the Streamliner coachwork as well as being the first of these to be offered for private ownership – was driven to victory by Fangio in the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, a year in which the Argentine also won the third of his five titles.
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Moss also took the wheel of the car and used it to set the fastest lap of the Italian Grand Prix for its final competitive outing at the conclusion of the 1955 season.
Offered from the Collection of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, the W 196 R was put up for auction at Sotheby’s with the price listed as in excess of €50m.
A historic 1955 Mercedes W196 R Stromlinienwagen, once raced by Formula One legends Juan Manuel Fangio and Sir Stirling Moss, has sold for a record €51.15 million (£42.7 million) at auction.
Finished in Brilliant Silver Metallic over a grey leather right-hand-drive interior, the SL500 remained in Moss' ownership for four years, after which it was sold by Graypaul Ferrari with 25,602 miles on the odometer.
This RHD 500SL remained in Moss’ ownership for its first four years.
The car has since traded hands a couple more times, with the current seller acquiring it in February 2006. It marked the end of an era for Mercedes’ Silver Arrows, as the manufacturer withdrew from motorsport until the 1980s.
The proceeds from the auction will support the IMS Museum’s restoration projects and acquisitions, with a particular focus on expanding its U.S.-centric collection.
Ex-Sir Stirling Moss Mercedes F1 car expected to fetch €48 million at auction
A 1954 Mercedes W 196 R Formula One car once driven by Sir Stirling Moss is set to go under the hammer at auction next month with an estimate of €48 million.
This very special piece of motorsport history was raced by five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio and was also used to set the fastest lap time by Sir Stirling Moss at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix.
At the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, the car and its driver, Fangio, took victory, which led the Argentinian racing driver to the third of his five titles that season.
The car itself is chassis number nine out of 54 and is the first of the streamliner-bodied W 196 R’s to be offered for private ownership.
The sale, conducted by RM Sotheby’s at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, marked the highest price ever paid for a grand prix car.
The streamlined silver W196 R is one of only four complete examples of the model in existence. Though the price fell short of the record for the most expensive car ever sold at auction—the €135 million sale of a 1955 Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé in 2022—it still shattered the previous record for a grand prix car, set by another W196 from 1954, which sold for $29.6 million in 2013.
This particular W196 R was first raced by Fangio, who drove it to victory at the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, and later by Moss, who raced it at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
The car itself is described as having been one of Moss' personal cars, and wore the plate "7 SM" while in his ownership in the UK in the 1990s.
"Sir Stirling Moss has often been described as the greatest Formula One driver never to have won a world championship, so we’re honored to offer one of his personal cars," said James McWilliam, senior specialist at H&H Classics.
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How much does H&H expect this SL to bring on auction day?
The estimate may surprise some R129 watchers, as the auction house estimates it to bring just £10,000 to £12,000, or about $12,660 to $15,200.
Despite being followed around by French cars for the past decade, he has somehow been able to avoid Citroën ownership, judging them too commonplace, and is currently looking at cars from the former Czechoslovakia. The car was known for its sleek, streamlined body that extended over the wheels, enhancing its aerodynamic performance.
The relatively modest estimate perhaps reflects the RHD layout, making it a more natural purchase for a collector in the UK or Ireland, though it's certainly importable into the US thanks to the 25-year rule.
Clean examples of the early R129 cars are getting tougher to find, even though low-mileage examples from later years are still in good supply, having been used seasonally.
But still, this estimate is not much higher than a garden variety example with this mileage would normally bring.
The auction house notes that the cylinder heads received an overhaul while in the ownership of the current seller, in addition to other maintenance work that has been performed.
"As well as being a fantastic motor car in its own right, the car’s provenance is indisputable thanks to an ownership confirmation letter and a good history file which confirms careful ownership over the years," McWilliam added.
Visit the auction website to view the full list of lots from the upcoming sale.
Jay Ramey
Jay Ramey grew up around very strange European cars, and instead of seeking out something reliable and comfortable for his own personal use he has been drawn to the more adventurous side of the dependability spectrum.
Jay has been with Autoweek since 2013.
The SL now shows 89,900 miles and will be offered with a letter confirming Moss' ownership during the first four years, along with other documentation and manuals.
The 500SL's mileage can perhaps be categorized as moderate, as quite a few of these have been babied or underused since new.
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Later this week a 1992 example originally owned by Sir Stirling Moss will test this theory, as it goes up for auction at H&H's Duxford sale in the UK.
This 500SL was ordered new by Moss, who collected it from Bremen, Germany, following its pre-delivery inspection on 24 July, 1992, and registered it in the UK the following month.