Global auction house RM Sotheby’s, in conjunction with Mercedes-Benz Heritage and Indianapolis Speedway Museum recently sold a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Stromlinienwagen, for an eye-watering A$85.09 million. This set a new benchmark for Grand Prix cars and was also the second highest priced car sold at auction.
The first Streamliner-bodied W 196 R (chassis number 00009/54) sold is among the rarest and arguably one of the most beautiful competition cars ever created, ranking as one of Mercedes-Benz’ greatest accomplishments.
It’s one of Formula 1’s most successful models ever. The Streamliner is a spin-off of the W196 Mercedes racer from the 1950s that Juan Manuel Fangio drove at Sandown, Victoria, in 1978 as part of the Golden Anniversary Australian Grand Prix meeting.
This car, 00009/54, was driven by Fangio to victory at the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix. And by Stirling Moss at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, who achieved the fastest lap.
Moss had requested a long-wheelbase chassis after Fangio found the mid-size chassis twitchy on Monza’s new banking. Chassis number 00009/54 was mounted with a Streamliner body and sent to Monza for Moss.
In September 1964, a contingent from the Mercedes-Benz Club of America visited the Mercedes Untertürkheim plant in Stuttgart.
As detailed in the correspondence file on the car, during this visit, a conversation ensued between the club’s Wilhelm “Bill” Spoerle and the manufacturer’s engineer Dr Friedrich Schildberger about donating a race car to the “planned new museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway”.
Spoerle had moved to Indianapolis in 1956 and in 1963 became Restoration Manager at the new museum at the Brickyard. He realised there could be no better place for a W 196 R donation than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.
As Mercedes-Benz president Walter Hitzinger and chief engineer Dr Fritz Nallinger explained in a March 1965 letter to speedway owner Tony Hulman: “In view of the special significance of Indianapolis in the history of automobile racing and also in particular view of our own company’s contribution, we have now decided to give you a 2.5-litre streamlined car, Type W 196, built in 1954, as a gift for exhibition in your museum.”
Mercedes-Benz had a tie to America’s greatest race, having won the race in just its fifth running in 1915 when Ralph DePalma drove a Mercedes to victory in what proved to be one of just a handful of Indianapolis 500 wins for a European manufacturer.
Dr Schildberger set about recommissioning the W 196 R so that it could be driven during an official presentation at the Brickyard, which was planned for the weekend of the 1965 Indianapolis 500.
For this exhibition, Mercedes-Benz ordered 50 gallons of Esso (Exxon) racing fuel to be delivered. The Stromlinienwagen was shipped through the port of Baltimore in late April and trucked to Indianapolis.
It was officially donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation on Sunday May 30, 1965.
For almost six decades, the W 196 R had been stored and maintained by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, occasionally being invited to attend important exhibitions, such as the 1996 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, the 2003 Canadian International AutoShow, and the grand reopening of the redesigned Petersen Automotive Museum in December 2015.
The car participated in the first Velocity Invitational (then called Sonoma Speed Festival) event at Sonoma Raceway
in 2019, and it was then shown at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance once again in 2020.
NEW HANDS BEHIND THE WHEEL AT SINGER
California-based luxury specialist, Singer, recognised worldwide for its restorations and creation of bespoke air-cooled 911 model Porsches has announced the recent appointment of Raj Nair as its new CEO.
Nair (above middle, with chief strategy officer Mazen Fawaz, left, and Singer founder Rob Dickinson, right) began his automotive career at Ford in 1987 as a body and assembly operations launch engineer, ultimately working on 11 vehicle programs in 13 assembly plants, with assignments across Europe, South America and Asia Pacific.
He later became Ford’s head of product development and chief technical officer and was deeply involved in the creation of the Ford GT, before being appointed president of Ford North America.
In 2018 he joined renowned Canadian automotive technology provider, Multimatic, where he was president and chief operating officer. During his time at Multimatic, cars including the Mercedes-AMG ONE, Ford Mustang GTD, and Porsche 963 LMDh have been brought to life on road and track.
Nair brings his wealth of experience to Singer, which since 2009 has established a reputation for outstanding workmanship and quality of its bespoke vehicles.
Nair will help to lead Singer in a redefined CEO role focused on operational effectiveness; refining and amplifying Singer’s work of 15 years as the company moves to new areas of growth and global presence.
Announcing the appointment, Singer founder, executive chairman and creative director, Rob Dickinson said: “We’re glad we could persuade Raj to join us. His expertise and proven governorship in key areas will help us get where we want to go. He’ll join Maz and me in leading the company, with a focus on operations while we obsess about the cars and the vision for Singer’s future. What we have up our sleeves is exciting, and with Raj by our side we look forward to showing the world what we do next.”
Mazen Fawaz, chief strategy officer added: “We carefully planned a process to identify the ideal candidate for this redefined CEO role and it led us to Raj, so I’m delighted that he’s agreed to join us. As Rob and I focus on the vision for Singer’s future we’ll be diving deep into what defines the cars and makes them special.
“I’ve reshaped my role to allow me to be at the forefront of our work to introduce Singer to new markets around the world and to develop new collaborations with brands that share our focus on being the best in the world. As we do that, Raj’s experience will ensure that we don’t miss a beat operationally.”
Nair had this to say of his new role: “I’ve watched from afar as Singer arrived on the automotive scene, defined a new sector and built a brand that has influenced the whole industry.
“My experience over more than 35 years has been all about making great cars and great companies even better, and I’m tremendously excited about continuing that work at Singer.”
ONE FOR THE POOL ROOM
Online auction site Collecting Cars recently sold its most unusual offering since it was established.
It was a one-off vehicle from its website that garnered worldwide interest and eventually went for a cool A$401,000.
But it can’t be driven and has no engine, body, gearbox, windscreen or panels.
It’s a faithful 1:1 scale sculpture, of Porsche’s 934 model by renowned London-based artist Benedict Radcliffe.
Selling for almost triple what a real used and driveable 930-generation 911 Turbo of the same era would normally fetch, the auction generated 218 bids and more than 6000 views over a seven-day period.
The bespoke tubular wire frame artwork in Radcliffe’s signature style captures simplicity and essence of the iconic Porsche 934 racing car, finished in its most famous and distinctive orange Jägermeister livery.
Exhibited around the world, including at Milan Design Week and displayed by Porsche China itself, the sculpture will return to Asia to a private collector.
Reaching international bidders, the 1:1 scale wireframe model was one of Collecting Cars most popular listings with the winning bid coming from a buyer in Asia.
Edward Lovett, founder and CEO of Collecting Cars said: “The Porsche 934, in its Jägermeister livery, is one of the most iconic racing cars of its type, and this sale of the sculpture that it evokes, is one that will go down in the history books.
“It’s proof of the breadth of automobilia available on Collecting Cars and the power of our community and bidders on the platform. We can’t wait to see the sculpture in situ with our client in Asia – it’s going to be a great talking piece.”
HISTORIC D-TYPE JAGUAR ON THE BLOCK
Offered without reserve at the 2025 Amelia Island auction by Broad Arrow Auctions, is one of Jaguar’ s 1954 D-Type Works competition cars, with an estimated value of US$6.5-$8.5 million.
Famously known as OKV 2, its Works number plate, the D-Type was not only raced and tested by some of the most revered drivers of all time — Stirling Moss, Peter Walker, Tony Rolt, Peter Whitehead, Mike Hawthorn, Ivor Bueb, Ninian Sanderson, and Norman Dewis — but it is quite possibly the most raced Works D-Type, campaigned in top-level European races every year between 1954 and 1958.
The Jaguar D-Type revolutionised sports-car design with aircraft-inspired, lightweight engineering and beautiful aerodynamics contoured for new top-speed records that Jaguar set year after year at Le Mans.
The groundbreaking car would earn Jaguar a hat trick of Le Mans victories. The earliest D-Types were constructed for use solely by the Works competition department. The OKV 2 car on offer was in the first group of three D-Types constructed for Jaguar’s all-out assault on the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans.
OKV 2 was designated as team lead for Le Mans, with none other than Stirling Moss and his favoured co-driver, Peter Walker, behind the wheel. The pair set the fastest time in practice and a record top speed of a blistering 172.97 miles per hour with OKV 2 down the Mulsanne Straight. Though they eventually retired with brake issues, several further outings at the international level, followed for OKV 2 in the 1954 season.
Following additional successful races and two Works test stints by legendary drivers Norman Dewis, Mike Hawthorn, and Ninian Sanderson, the D-Type was sold in 1955 to Jack Broadhead for Jaguar’s PR man, Bob Berry, to race.
Berry proved himself quite the wheelman with finishes that included three second-place podiums at Goodwood and a further second at Aintree. After another successful 1956 season for Berry and OKV 2, save for a few races in 1957, Berry’s time with OKV 2 would come to an end.
The car was then campaigned by Ecurie Broadhead until 1959, when its engine was quiet for the first time in five years. In 1960, the car was sold to Gerald Montgomery Crozier, a Bentley racer, and began a short chain of gentleman-racer ownerships before landing with Lynx Engineering in the late 1970s for restoration as an amazingly unspoiled race car.
In 1999, Terry Larson, a D-Type expert who has thoroughly documented the car, acquired OKV 2 and would go on to drive it in the second running of the Goodwood Revival along with the Colorado Grand, California Mille, Copperstate 1000, and numerous Jaguar C- and D-Type Tours.
Under Larson’s stewardship, Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis piloted the car at two Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca, a momentous reunion of man and machine after 45 years apart.
Larson parted with the car after a decade. Since that time, the D-Type has been held by a noted west coast collector of significant sports and sports racing cars.
“Today, OKV 2 straddles the line between race and road car perhaps better than any other”, says Jakob Greisen, senior car specialist, Broad Arrow Auctions.
“It was built as the exemplar D-Type to lead the Works team, piloted by the best-of-the-best drivers, campaigned at some of motor-sport’s most important events, and remains a versatile competitor on historic tours, rallies and races.
“It is extensively documented with period testing and Le Mans paperwork and an abundance of archival racing imagery, and is offered at Broad Arrow’s 2025 Amelia Auction, selling without reserve, from 15 years of devoted enthusiast ownership”.