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Byline: NICK KURCZEWSKI
The pre-auction buzz about the 1939 Auto Union Type D offered for sale by Christie's was that it could possibly sell for $10 to $15 million. That would make the mid-engine V-12 racecar the most expensive car ever sold at auction. Ever.
Designed by Ferdinand Porsche, and commissioned by Adolf Hitler to promote German engineering prior to World War II, Auto Unions were ruthlessly effective racing machines in prewar Grand Prix racing. (On the Block, AW, Dec. 18, 2006)
This model, chassis #21, was recorded as having won the 1939 French Grand Prix before being discovered, decades later, in pieces in Russia.
Despite the hype and pre-bid auction house expectation, the highly restored car was pulled from the block in the 11th hour, though it remained on display at Retromobile. Christie's representatives explained that Audi stepped in to halt the sale after insisting upon further verification of the car's race history; Audi representatives were told to direct inquiries to Christie's.
Whatever the ...
Source: HighBeam Research, No Sale.(News)