Let’s take a break from CES for a minute. What could turn out to be the most expensive race car ever is about to go on the auction block. The 15ft 1939 Auto Union D-type could sell for as much as £6 million. The previous record belongs to a 1931 Bugatti Royale which sold for £5.5 million.
The car was designed by Ferdinand Porsche (yes, that Porsche) in pre-war Germany as Adolf Hitler funded both Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz to have Germany dominate grand prix racing. The Silver Arrows achieved that goal, winning most races from 1934 to 1939.
At the end of the war, the cars fell into the hands of the Russians. The cars were smuggled out of the Soviet Union in the 1980s with one being sold to Audi and the other to a private collector who is now selling it again.
Source: Born Rich