Hitler's race car
Discussion
A rare 1939 German race car, expected to command the highest price ever paid for any automobile at auction, will hit the block in Paris in February.
The car, one of five remaining "Auto Union D-Types," is expected to sell for as much as $12 million, said Rupert Banner, head of Christie's motor cars department.
In 1933, after becoming chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler offered 500,000 reichmarks for a company to design a race car to show off the nation's technological prowess. (At the time, 500,000 reichmarks was equal to about $150,000, or $2.3 million in modern terms, according to the Economic History Services Website of Miami University of Ohio.)
Originally, Mercedes-Benz got the nod. But Ferdinand Porsche, then an engineer working with Auto Union, which today is known as Audi, was able to secure some of that financing to build a revolutionary car he had designed.
That basic design was modified over the next few years to become the 1939 Auto Union D-Type, the last of the line.
The D-type had a number of features that were extremely advanced for its day, including an engine mounted behind the driver and four-wheel independent suspension. Its twin-supercharged 3-liter V12 engine can produce 485 horsepower, giving the car a top speed of 185 miles per hour.
The car, one of five remaining "Auto Union D-Types," is expected to sell for as much as $12 million, said Rupert Banner, head of Christie's motor cars department.
In 1933, after becoming chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler offered 500,000 reichmarks for a company to design a race car to show off the nation's technological prowess. (At the time, 500,000 reichmarks was equal to about $150,000, or $2.3 million in modern terms, according to the Economic History Services Website of Miami University of Ohio.)
Originally, Mercedes-Benz got the nod. But Ferdinand Porsche, then an engineer working with Auto Union, which today is known as Audi, was able to secure some of that financing to build a revolutionary car he had designed.
That basic design was modified over the next few years to become the 1939 Auto Union D-Type, the last of the line.
The D-type had a number of features that were extremely advanced for its day, including an engine mounted behind the driver and four-wheel independent suspension. Its twin-supercharged 3-liter V12 engine can produce 485 horsepower, giving the car a top speed of 185 miles per hour.
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