Photo: RM Auctions
Even to this day, Auto Union’s Type C Stromlinie looks more like a UFO on wheels than a race car, but in 1937 it was the most powerful development stage of the Auto Union 16-cylinder racing car. The peculiar vehicle above looks similar to the German track machine, but it never actually reached the pavement.
In the same year, Bernd Rosemeyer drove the streamlined Type C on the Frankfurt to Darmstadt autobahn, reaching an impressive speed of over 400 km/h for the first time on a regular road. From that point on, it set several speed records. Perhaps this was the dream Carlo Mollino, a successful architect passionate about motorsport, had too when he designed his model.
In 1955, he, along with Enrico Nardi, created the Bisiluro Damolnar, a speed machine that took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year. It’s there where he wanted to break the limit and create a record car. He even sketched several designs for a high-speed automobile, but they never turned into an actual vehicle.
Here’s where the famous Stola S.p.A. - the oldest Italian company known for building automotive prototypes, including that of the Lancia Lambda - came in. The innovative looking model seen above was created by the same aftermarket firm, using one of the designs Mollino drew in the 1950s. It’s a full-scale tribute to the Turinese artist, one that has managed to grab the attention of the creative world.
As a matter of fact, along with other works by Carlo Mollino, the record car was presented by the Mollino Foundation at the Turin Modern Art Gallery in 2006. The unique contraption may not have seen any racing track ever, and perhaps it will never leave the place where it will be stored, but it sure makes for a great lot at this December’s RM Sotheby’s Driven by Disruption auction in New York. The automobile is estimated to fetch between $150,000-$200,000, but in the end it may cost even more than that.
In 1955, he, along with Enrico Nardi, created the Bisiluro Damolnar, a speed machine that took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year. It’s there where he wanted to break the limit and create a record car. He even sketched several designs for a high-speed automobile, but they never turned into an actual vehicle.
Here’s where the famous Stola S.p.A. - the oldest Italian company known for building automotive prototypes, including that of the Lancia Lambda - came in. The innovative looking model seen above was created by the same aftermarket firm, using one of the designs Mollino drew in the 1950s. It’s a full-scale tribute to the Turinese artist, one that has managed to grab the attention of the creative world.
As a matter of fact, along with other works by Carlo Mollino, the record car was presented by the Mollino Foundation at the Turin Modern Art Gallery in 2006. The unique contraption may not have seen any racing track ever, and perhaps it will never leave the place where it will be stored, but it sure makes for a great lot at this December’s RM Sotheby’s Driven by Disruption auction in New York. The automobile is estimated to fetch between $150,000-$200,000, but in the end it may cost even more than that.
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