Mercedes 1955 ‘Streamliner’ Set to Smash F1 Record at Auction

Mechanics push a W196 old timer racing car at a Mercedes Benz vintage car show marking the German car maker's 125 anniversary at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, August 27, 2011. (Reuters)
Mechanics push a W196 old timer racing car at a Mercedes Benz vintage car show marking the German car maker's 125 anniversary at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, August 27, 2011. (Reuters)
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Mercedes 1955 ‘Streamliner’ Set to Smash F1 Record at Auction

Mechanics push a W196 old timer racing car at a Mercedes Benz vintage car show marking the German car maker's 125 anniversary at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, August 27, 2011. (Reuters)
Mechanics push a W196 old timer racing car at a Mercedes Benz vintage car show marking the German car maker's 125 anniversary at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, August 27, 2011. (Reuters)

A sleek, long-nosed Mercedes raced by Stirling Moss and five-times Formula One world champion Juan Manuel Fangio in 1955 could become the most expensive grand prix car of all time at an auction in Stuttgart on Saturday.

The W196 R Stromlinienwagen ("Streamline car"), one of only four complete examples in existence, is being sold by RM Sotheby's on behalf of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) at a target price of more than 50 million euros ($52 million).

If it meets the estimate, it would also be the second costliest car ever sold at auction after a 1955 Mercedes 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe sportscar that changed hands for 135 million euros in May 2022.

The most expensive grand prix car sold at auction to date was another ex-Fangio 1954 Mercedes W196 that fetched $29.6 million at Goodwood in 2013.

The IMS car is the first streamline-bodied W196 R to become available for private ownership and, in its open-wheel form, was driven to victory by Fangio at the non-championship Buenos Aires Grand Prix in 1955.

Moss raced it with the streamline body at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, retiring after setting the fastest lap at an average speed of 215.7 kph.

Mercedes withdrew from factory-sponsored motorsport in 1955 after a Le Mans 24 Hours disaster that killed 84 people, returning to Formula One as an engine maker in 1994.

The car is presented in its Monza livery with full documentation.

"Without any doubt, it's the most beautiful race car in the world and ever. Nothing can compare. It's simply a masterpiece of style and design," Marcus Breitschwerdt, head of Mercedes-Benz heritage, told Reuters Television.

"It is very fast. The top speed is actually above and beyond 300 kph.

"I wouldn't expect that it's too much of an effort to get it back to driving condition. And we gladly will offer whoever buys the car to do it for them."

The car, chassis number 00009/54, was donated to the IMS by Mercedes in 1965 and is being sold to raise funds for the museum's restoration efforts.

The Indianapolis museum, which is aiming to become more US-focused, is selling a total of 11 cars from its collection at three separate auctions this year.

The Mercedes "Silver Arrows" dominated the immediate pre- and post World War Two era of grand prix racing with the W196 R a world-beater in 1954 and 1955.

The streamlined bodywork with enclosed wheels was used at high-speed circuits, with the open-wheeled version favored for more twisty tracks.



Mexico Awaits New Response from Google on Dispute Over Gulf of Mexico Name Before Filing Lawsuit 

The Gulf of Mexico branded as Gulf of America is pictured through a magnifying glass on the Google Maps app on a computer in Bogota on February 11, 2025. (AFP)
The Gulf of Mexico branded as Gulf of America is pictured through a magnifying glass on the Google Maps app on a computer in Bogota on February 11, 2025. (AFP)
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Mexico Awaits New Response from Google on Dispute Over Gulf of Mexico Name Before Filing Lawsuit 

The Gulf of Mexico branded as Gulf of America is pictured through a magnifying glass on the Google Maps app on a computer in Bogota on February 11, 2025. (AFP)
The Gulf of Mexico branded as Gulf of America is pictured through a magnifying glass on the Google Maps app on a computer in Bogota on February 11, 2025. (AFP)

Mexico said Monday it is awaiting a new response from Google to its request that the tech company fully restore the name “Gulf of Mexico” to its Google Maps service before filing a lawsuit.

President Claudia Sheinbaum shared a letter addressed to her government from Cris Turner, Google’s vice president of government affairs and public policy. It says that Google will not change the policy it outlined after US President Donald Trump declared the body of water the Gulf of America.

“We will wait for Google’s response and if not, we will proceed to court,” Sheinbaum said Monday during a morning press briefing.

As it stands, the gulf appears in Google Maps as “Gulf of America” within the United States, as “Gulf of Mexico” within Mexico and “Gulf of Mexico” (Gulf of America) elsewhere. Turner in his letter said the company was using “Gulf of America” to follow “longstanding maps policies impartially and consistently across all regions” and that the company was willing to meet in person with the Mexican government.

“While international treaties and conventions are not intended to regulate how private mapping providers represent geographic features, it is our consistent policy to consult multiple authoritative sources to provide the most up to date and accurate representation of the world,” he wrote.

Mexico has argued that the mapping policy violates Mexican sovereignty because the US only has jurisdiction over around 46% of the Gulf. The rest is controlled by Mexico, which controls 49% and Cuba, which controls around 5%. The name “Gulf of Mexico” dates back to 1607 and is recognized by the United Nations.

In response to Google's letter, Mexican authorities said they would take legal action, writing that “under no circumstance will Mexico accept the renaming of a geographic zone within its own territory and under its jurisdiction.”

The renaming of the body of water by Trump has flared tensions between Mexico and the US at a pivotal time for the neighboring allies.

Sheinbaum has had to walk a fine line with Trump amid threats of tariffs and Mexico and other Latin American countries have braced themselves for promised mass deportations, the brunt of which has still not been felt.

Along with the legal threat to Google, the Mexican president also announced Monday that Mexico and the US would hold high-level meetings this week on trade and security in an effort to maintain a “long-term plan of collaboration” between the two countries.

It's the latest round of talks between the two countries in which Mexico hopes to hold off a larger geopolitical crisis.