Mysterious Auto Union Racer Withdrawn From Auction

Filed in archive Auctions on February 12, 2007

One of the most-hyped auction cars in years has been withdrawn from Christies Rétromobile in Paris February 18 under mysterious circumstances. The 1939 Auto Union D-Type had been billed as the most complete and original Auto Union known to exist. With twin superchargers and a humbling 485 hp, it supposedly is the car in which Müller won the Grand Prix at Reims and Tazio Nuvolari won at Belgrade, before war intervened to consign these racers into the annals of history. Or is it? On February 9th Christies announced that the sale would be postponed "pending further exploration into the car's race history, in collaboration with Audi Tradition." No explanation was given but the announcement suggests that this Auto Union may not be the real thing. A similar Auto Union racer had found its way into The Soviet Union after disappearing during the war and there were rumours a few years ago that a replica had been built using parts from that racer. Could the D-Type in question be a fake? Watch this space for an update when the truth is revealed.