Christie’s Auctions has announced that they will be offering a rare 1939 Auto Union D-Type for sale during their Feb. 17 Retromobile sale in Paris.
Considered by many to be one of the most seminal cars in motor racing history, the D-Type won the 1939 Belgrade Grand Prix at the hands of Nuvolari, and today enjoys a near-mythical status due to its rarity. Auction house estimates are that this car could break all records to become the most expensive car ever sold at auction, suggesting an estimated price tag in excess of $14 million.
With an eye on his country’s international standing, German chancellor Adolf Hitler, after assuming power in 1933, promised 500,000 Reichmarks to the constructor who could build a Grand Prix car ready for the 1934 season. However, following a meeting with engineer Ferdinand Porsche and the driver Hans Stuck, Hitler was persuaded to share this sum between Mercedes and the newly formed Auto Union company.
The car, designed by Porsche and built by Auto Union, was revolutionary in that the driver was placed in front of the engine and all four wheels benefited from independent suspension. Continually developed over the next six years, the model evolved into its final iteration, the D-Type.
The arrival of war interrupted this famous era of racing, and the cars were lost or destroyed during the hostilities that followed. It is, therefore, even more extraordinary that this car survives.
Taken to Russia for its technology to be studied, it was here where its disassembled parts were discovered, separated from the body and waiting to be crushed. Sent from Russia to England, the body was recreated by Rod Jolley Coachbuilding to the exact dimensions of the original, upon these original underpinnings. The car was fully restored by Crosthwaite and Gardiner, and was tested for the first time by Dick Crosthwaite at the Nürburgring in October 1994. It has been meticulously preserved in the same state ever since.
