1939 Auto Union Type D

[Frying Pan]

Christie's press release:

 

AUDI ANCESTOR COULD BE MOST EXPENSIVE AUCTIONED CAR EVER

 

Christie's will auction ultra-rare 1939 Auto Union Type D Grand Prix car that could fetch £8 million

 

- 1939 Auto Union D-type to be auctioned by Christie’s in Paris on February 17th

- Expected to attract record bids of between £5.78-7.88 million

- 12-cylinder supercharged engine with 460PS output, giving a top speed of 205mph

- What could become the most expensive car ever to be sold in the history of the prestigious auction house Christie's is due to go under the hammer at the international vintage car fair Rétromobile in Paris later this month (February 17th).

 

Christie’s has estimated the value of the 1939 Auto Union D-Type, one of just two remaining examples of this legendary Grand Prix racing car, at between £5.78-7.88 million, which would set a new record. Formed in the Thirties through the amalgamation of four German automotive marques, Auto Union was a precursor to the modern day Audi brand, and its memory is kept alive by the German prestige manufacturer’s heritage division, Audi Tradition.

 

The auction vehicle will be on display in the Audi Forum New York (250 Park Avenue and 47th) on 25 January, and its so-called "sister" car – the Auto Union D-Type racing car from 1938 – makes an appearance on 12 February in Paris (Bauer Saint Honoré, 48 Place du Marché Saint Honoré). Both of these Grand Prix cars made the journey from the former Soviet Union, having been transported there from the factory Zwickau in eastern Germany after World War II by the Soviet occupation forces as spoils of war.

 

American Paul Karassik eventually brought them to the West in the 1980s after searching for them for over 10 years and eventually finding them stripped down into individual parts in the former USSR. He then had them reassembled by East Sussex-based car restoration experts Crosthwaite & Gardiner, with technical support from AUDI AG. Subsequently AUDI AG acquired the 1938 car from Paul Karassik. The 1939 D-Type passed into private ownership.

 

The Auto Union engineers, headed by Robert Eberan-Eberhorst, developed the 12-cylinder Type D racing car for the 1938 racing season, in which new international Grand Prix regulations were introduced, limiting engine capacity to three litres. The fundamental technical design of the car – mid-mounted engine, torsion bar suspension, supercharged engine – essentially followed the model of its Type C predecessor, developed by Ferdinand Porsche for Auto Union with a 16-cylinder V-engine. In 1938 Auto Union won the Italian and British Grand Prix with the Type D racing car.

 

The car was modified in 1939 with the addition of a twin compressor, which increased its engine power output from 420 to 460PS. Its top speed was 205mph and it was driven to victory at the Grand Prix in France and Yugoslavia. The top drivers of the Auto Union Type D racing car were Tazio Nuvolari, H.P. Müller, Hans Stuck, Rudolf Hasse and Georg Meier.

 

Audi Tradition, based in Ingolstadt, Germany, now owns four Auto Union Silver Arrows – the original Type D and Type C/D hill-climbing car and replicas of the original Type C Grand Prix car and the Type C Avus Streamline racing car. A further replica is still to be produced this year – an Auto Union Type D racing car of the 1939 generation with twin compressor.

 

The four rings of the Audi badge symbolise the brands Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer, which were later combined under the umbrella of Auto Union. Auto Union and NSU, which merged in 1969, made many significant contributions towards the development of the car. AUDI AG was formed from Audi NSU Auto Union AG in 1985. Together with the two traditional companies Auto Union GmbH and NSU GmbH, Audi Tradition nurtures and presents the deep and diverse history of Audi.

 

See some pictures of the build here. 11000 miles completed!

[Big Brother]

Does it have a full service history?

Also how many miles has it done?

 

Steve

 

 

SE7EN-UP!

_{The funny thing about this signature is, by the time you realise it says nothing, it's too late to stop reading it.}

 

[MartinWoodham]

do Christies operate the 'dibs' system? 😬

 

Martin

Aero'd Roadsports B with a garage slowly filling up with upgrade parts

[paulyb]

Just recieved the catalogue for this sale. In addition to the usual high quality catalogue that the top auction houses produce this one comes with a seperate 'book' about the D-type with all the history, plenty of period pictures and some beautiful studio shots.

Not sure I'll get to the auction, but a fascinating read.

 

[stephen grant]

 

Described by the chap at Crosthwaite & Gardiner in this month's MotorSport as horrible to drive, due to the driving position being right on top of the steering wheel.

 

Still looks the nuts though

 

stephen

 

[Alan Bowler]

Do Westfield to a replica?

If not, I'll have to trade in a few of my Veyrons.

 

AB

[stephen grant]

[Cliff Richard]

and one of my customers wrote the description for the catalogue.

 

You may find it will go for alot more than they think, due to increased no of billionaires in the east.

 

Clive the Blade here

 

This is what my car sounds like!

 

 

[opplock]

I dread the thought of it going to far east. Having watched Auto Union startup procedures at FOS a few years ago I doubt anyone but C&G could be trusted to run it. An annual outing at Goodwood should be a condition of sale.

[CageyH]

Is this the one rebuilt from original parts?

 

Only dead fish go with the flow....

[paulyb]

Sort of - this is one of the three original cars, the first two of which were discovered by Karassik in bits but whole chassis.

 

FWIW Abba Kogan paid close to 10M pounds for the car as a non-runner ❗ Since then he's restored it and got it running. That makes the auction estimate look pretty reasonable

This car is far more original than the example which is owned by Audi (also discovered by Karassik and restored by C&G) . The third was found in the Czech Republic by Count Hubertus Donhoff in 1976 without the engine, which was later discovered allegedly being left behind at the Donington GP and re-united with the car before being sold to a Korean for a huge (undisclosed ) wedge of cash in 1990 but he couldn't take the car to Korea (something to do with import rules) so the car is still sitting in Germany

I think there is a chance that even if this one goes into a private collection Audi will start to increase the number of public outings of their C's and D's so we may still get to enjoy the sight and sound of the cars at Goodwood...etc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by - paulyb on 5 Feb 2007 21:46:46

[paulyb]

Having just re-read the auction description Christie's are saying that the car is one of 2 D-types. I belive that this is an error based on the well documented discovery of the 2 cars by Paul Karassik in the 80s but forgetting about the often over-looked Count Donhoff car (less well known, but certainly well regarded by experts )

[Alexander Gurr]

There seems to be an increasing trend in people buying significant classic and vintage cars for investment purposes, much in the same way as some individuals do with works of art. There was an article about it in Octane this month.

 

To me this is truly terrible. Not only does it push the price up for true enthusiasts, but it also means that the most significant cars get hidden away in private collections, never to be seen or heard again ☹️

 

If only I had a spare £10m 😬 Actually, I would go for a Mercedes W154

[paulyb]

Think you'd need more than £10MM for a W154 😳 Isn't Bernie rumoured to have paid £20MM for his 🤔

[Alexander Gurr]

Is there any info on Bernie's car collection 🤔 It sure sounds interesting 😳

[paulyb]

Lots of generally known info and lots of rumour ❗

He has a massive collection, much of which is kept in a secure warehouse at Biggin Hill and much in an underground facility in Switzerland.

Alot of it he brings out for events, eg some of the cars that ran at See Red at Donnington and Festival of Speed...etc but some he keeps private. I think he's done quite a few 'interesting' deals to get some of them 😳

When I've got time and am at home with my notes I'll try and post up some of the highlights

[Tony Whitley]

£20m for a W154? They saw him coming - Glass's says top book is £18m 😬

[Mike Oxbiggar]

Are you prepared to sell the half-hood seperately?

 

K16 00C - The MANGO Handbag

If this is paradise, I wish I had a lawnmower!

[Super_Rich_Bernie]

Apparently withdrawn from the auction. Anyone know why?

 

Jonathan

[peterg]

p'raps it was "advertised elsewhere, I reserve the right to end the auction early" like the ones on Ebay 😬

[paulyb]

Auction has been postponed whilst Christies and Audi Tradition (their classic / historic section) do further research on provenance

There is a certain amount of controversy with these cars as they were discovered as rusting wrecks without chassis numbers / stampings and then assumed to be certain identities. This car has had a lot of research done by a leading historic expert - Prof. Kirchberg but bear in mind it was restored using much of the old rusting chassis and engine but just about everything else was made up by C&G. There will always be a lot of speculation / stories....

[Sheds Moderator]

Ah yes, rather like the Cobras "restored" from a bulkhead and chassis plate. The ex-works 60s Mini Coopers are even worse, the Minis of this era had a rivet on chassis plate (passenger inner sill) and it was commonplace to swap plates around for an event when one of the cars had been crashed. (Source, Peter Browning, Comps Manager at the time)

[paulyb]

....or the GT40 we love watching race at Goodwood that was restored from this ❗

[Dickie Normuss]

Paul, which bit is that?

 

VX HPC - Loud and proud here

Watch out, whatever hits the fan will not be distributed evenly

[paulyb]

Small part of rear suspension / sub-frame which for those who aren't quite as nerdy / obsessive about classic car chassis numbers magically became this *eek*

 

 

 

Edited by - paulyb on 28 Mar 2007 15:48:18