In February, two of the most renowned classic cars globally will be up for auction, as part of a series aimed at benefiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. This auction series features three events with a total of 11 vehicles owned by the museum and is expected to generate at least $100 million in overall sales.

The first vehicle, a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 R Streamliner valued at around $50 million, will be highlighted during a private RM Sotheby’s auction on February 1 at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Just four days later, RM Sotheby’s will auction a 1965 Ferrari 250 LM, projected to achieve an estimated value of $30 million, at the Retromobile auto show in Paris.

If these vehicles reach their expected values, they will exceed the current record for the most expensive car sold at auction in 2024: a 1963 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder that sold for $17.8 million, including premiums, at Mecum Auctions in January. However, both cars would still fall short of the record-breaking $142 million sale of a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé in 2022, despite the Streamliner’s significance being nearly comparable, and its $50 million estimate is perceived as conservative.

“The 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R Streamliner is considered one of the most crucial cars in racing history,” stated Marcus Görig, a car expert with RM Sotheby’s, in an email. “Cars of this caliber seldom come up for sale, and when one does, it marks a monumental moment.”

Both vehicles carry a racing legacy that is unmatched in their category, which is a vital element in their high appraisals.

Acclaimed for its aerodynamic structure and a short-stroke inline eight-cylinder engine, the elegant silver Mercedes was driven by two of racing’s most honored drivers: Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss. Fangio claimed victory in the 1955 Formula Libre Buenos Aires Grand Prix, while Moss raced it at the 1955 Formula One Italian Grand Prix in Monza. The car was gifted to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by the Mercedes-Benz factory in 1965.

The eye-catching red Ferrari 250 LM was once owned by Luigi Chinetti, who used it for his North American Racing Team (NART), entering privateer Ferraris in several endurance and F1 races. The NART 250 LM won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1965, a victory that wouldn’t be repeated by any Ferrari until 2023.

The W196 will be auctioned during a standalone event in Stuttgart, in partnership with the Mercedes-Benz Museum, with bidding available exclusively to live and telephone participants. The remaining vehicles in the auction series, which include a sought-after 1966 Ford GT40 Mk II and the Corvette SS Project XP-64, will be accessible for registered bidders, enabling online, phone, and live bidding in Paris and at the ModaMiami car show on March 1 and 2.

The cars for auction were selected due to their lack of ties to Indy racing, according to an auction spokesperson. This sale aims to aid the expansion of the nonprofit museum, which is housed in a 100,000-square-foot facility owned by Penske Entertainment Corp., and is expected to provide financial viability for the museum over the next decade.

In 2023, the museum launched a public fundraising campaign with an $89 million goal for renovations and to create an endowment for future investments. A separate phase of the campaign raised $46 million, and the museum is currently closed for renovation work.

Despite the challenging market conditions caused by fluctuating interest rates affecting high-end collectors’ spending, RM Sotheby’s has recently thrived in the auction arena. In October, they achieved $30 million in sales from vintage Lamborghinis and Mercedes vehicles salvaged from a Los Angeles junkyard, far surpassing the auction’s initial estimate of $17 million.

© 2024 Bloomberg

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