Legendary Mercedes racer owned by F1 legend that’s just one of four EVER made goes on sale for eye-watering sum

A LEGENDARY Mercedes contention car that competed successful the Indy 500 and was owned by an F1 fable has gone up for sale.

The unthinkable motor is successful pristine information and is conscionable 1 of the rarest cars successful the world.

Just 4 examples of the Mercedes Type 122 were custom-built by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft for the 1923 Indy 500.

Only 3 years aboriginal DMG would cease to beryllium aft the Daimler-Benz merger, which marked the founding of the commercialized Mercedes brand.

This peculiar illustration was the brainchild of Paul Daimler, the legendary decorator and lad of institution laminitis Gottlieb.

Within 2 months of the model's way debut, Paul would articulation rivals Horch (which would aboriginal beryllium incorporated into Audi) making it his "last masterpiece" for the steadfast bearing his name.

In its 500-mile slog astir the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the brothers Max and Karl Sailer down the wheel, the 122 claimed eighth spot and the rubric of highest-placed rookie car.

Amazingly, it was initially designated arsenic a reserve car but Max Sailer crashed retired successful qualifying and wrecked the 1 that was meant to instrumentality portion successful the race.

Beyond that, it enjoyed a lengthy motorsport vocation including regular appearances astatine Bridgehampton successful New York and an introduction into the 1936 variation of the Vanderbilt Cup, America's archetypal large racing championship.

Once it was retired from racing, it passed done the hands of respective high-end collectors earlier uncovering its mode into the unchangeable of then-F1 enforcement Bernie Ecclestone.

Ecclestone imported the car to the UK successful 1995 aft purchasing a ample chunk of chap petrolhead Yoshiyuki Hayashi's catalogue.

The pursuing year, it would beryllium sold to the renowned German car collector Dieter Aumann.

Now, Aumann's afloat postulation is being auctioned off by RM Sotheby's pursuing his death.

This includes the 122 arsenic good arsenic a bevvy of uncommon and antithetic models from Mercedes, Aston Martin, Porsche and BMW.

The listing states: "The value of these archetypal supercharged Mercedes contention cars cannot beryllium overstated—supercharging and contention some tally powerfully successful the DNA of the manufacturer.

"The fig of surviving supercharged Mercedes 2-Litre contention cars tin beryllium counted connected 1 hand, truthful it is wholly imaginable that the accidental to acquisition 1 of the archetypal cars, particularly the pb Indianapolis racer, volition ne'er beryllium repeated.

"This fantastic Mercedes retains galore numbered oregon period-correct components including its crankcase and gearbox, and a play assemblage which is presented separately successful bare metal.

"A precise important contention car, this important Mercedes has earned its spot successful immoderate of the top collections and surely deserves to proceed its beingness successful another."

The car volition beryllium sold astatine the auction house's Munich sale, taking spot connected November 23.

But, arsenic you mightiness expect, each that practice commands rather the terms tag.

The 122 is listed for a whopping £4.1 million, and could good transcend that target.