USA / FILE: A soon to be auctioned 1939 German race car may command the highest price ever paid for an automobile at auction

Record ID: 310156

  • Title: USA / FILE: A soon to be auctioned 1939 German race car may command the highest price ever paid for an automobile at auction
  • Date: 27th January 2007
  • Summary: (L!3) NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 25, 2007) (REUTERS) AUDI FORUM VARIOUS OF AUTO UNION D-TYPE, CAR THAT WON THE 1939 FRENCH GRAND PRIX (SOUNDBITE) (English) RUPERT BANNER, HEAD OF CHRISTIE'S INTERNATIONAL MOTOR CARS, SAYING: "It's really the grandfather of almost all motor racing cars that we're looking at today. You look at any Indianapolis car or Formula
  • Embargoed: 11th February 2007 12:00
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  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA5YEIL3WV3OYRK63RLS5EY2G3S
  • Story Text: A rare motor-racing car, and one of the prestigious "Silver Arrows" that were lost for decades after World War II, was previewed on Thursday (January 25) as auctioneers predicted it would become the world's most expensive car ever sold at auction.
    The car, a 1939 Auto Union D-Type race car, is the actual car that won the French Grand Prix of that year. Christie's auction house expects the racer to fetch between $12 and $15 million (USD) when it goes under the gavel on February 17 in Paris.
    Head of Christie's International Motor Cars, Rupert Banner said the Auto Union D-Type was the inspiration for today's high-speed racers. "It's really the grandfather of almost all motor racing cars that we're looking at today. You look at any Indianapolis car or Formula One car today, it's the same in concept; it's just been developed from that, really," said Banner.
    In 1933, Adolf Hitler commissioned the manufacturing of the Auto Union series of race cars. Those original cars were modified over the next few years to become the 1939 Auto Union D-Type.
    The D-Type up for auction was discovered in the late 1980's by an American car collector in the Ukraine: it was dismantled and waiting to be crushed. The pieces were then sent to England where they were reassembled and the car restored.
    Only five of the D-Type racers still exist, which accounts for its high price tag, according to Banner. He said, "When you come to Auto Union, strike Audi, Audi have three of the five that survived. There's another in an institution. This is the only car that you can buy from that period as a private individual, as an institution, whoever you may be you could own, and I think that's an amazing opportunity for people."
    The previous record for a car sold at auction was set in 1987 for a 1931 Bugatti Type 41 Royale Sports Coupe which was sold at Christie's in London.
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