Tom Luxsox Coins

Nazi Silver

Nazi-era Race Car for Auction

A rare Nazi-era vehicle concealed from the German mine shaft during World War II is now on display for two days at Audi’s showroom on Park Avenue. The silver D-Type from Auto Union, Audi’s forerunner, will eventually be auctioned on February 17 in Paris as part of Christie’s Retromobile auto sale. The race car is estimated to be worth millions of dollars and it is expected to fetch around $12 million to $15 million.

Christie’s said, “While Adolph Hitler gave about 500,000 reichsmarks to Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz to promote racing and technology, the car is not specifically affiliated with the Third Reich.” The D-Type on display, the grandfather of modern race cars, is one of only 2 in existence. Said car has revolutionized automotive racing by putting the driver in front of the engine instead of behind it. It speeds up to 185 miles per hour.

“This car was really quite ahead of its time,” said Rupert Banner, head of Christie’s International Motor Cars division. “It was revolutionary. It changed the face of racing.” Over 20 Auto Union series cars were manufactured between 1933 and 1939. The D-Type, designed by Ferdinand Porsche, has a body shape likened to an airplane fuselage. The driver sits sunken into the body of the metal, and the wheels. The latter appears like oversized bicycle tires having independent suspension. Automakers of today are improving their line from race cars like the D-Type. As a fact, the latest and greatest formulation for fast street or light track vehicles having EBC Redstuff are also inspired by race cars like the D-Type.

“There was a kind of memory loss after the war,” said Audi historian Thomas Erdmann. “It took really until the early 1960s and later on to the 1980s for car design to catch up to these cars.” Just before World War II, the D-Type won the 1939 French Grand Prix. The car, also called the Silver Arrow, was filmed winding through country roads for use in newsreels across Europe. “They vanished, lost behind the Iron Curtain,” Erdmann added.

In the racing realm, German cars were always using the color silver, French use blue and British green. These colors eventually became their trademarks. This is the reason behind the sleek silver color of the D-Type.

During the heyday of the World War II, Auto Union workers hid the cars in a mine shaft in eastern Germany to shun using them for scrap metal. After the historic war, the Russians discovered the cars and took them to their own country, along with dismantled Auto Union factories, to re-create motorsports. The cars were taken apart.

An American car collector came across car parts in a scrap heap in Ukraine and took them back to England. There, Crosthwaite & Gardiner’s auto experts restored it. Christie’s did not divulge who is selling it.

About the Author

Anthony Fontanelle is a 35-year-old automotive buff who grew up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in his shop.

Nazi Hunters $11.99 Nazi Hunters

Nazi Titanic $8.99 Nazi Titanic

Nazi Collaborators $11.99 Nazi Collaborators

Nazi Downed $24.99 Nazi Downed - Photographic Print

Nazi Supporter $24.99 Nazi Supporter - Photographic Print

Nazi Girl $24.99 Nazi Girl - Photographic Print

Nazi Yachtsmen $24.99 Nazi Yachtsmen - Photographic Print

Nazi Hunters: The Real Story (DVD) $30.85 NAZI HUNTERS

The Nazi War Machine $17.99 The Nazi War Machine

Nazi and Gestapo Megaset $23.99 Nazi and Gestapo Megaset

Nazi: Birth of the Hitler Youth $10.99 Nazi: Birth of the Hitler Youth

Nazi's - UFO Conspiracy $5.99 Nazi's - UFO Conspiracy

Search For Nazi Gold $9.99 Search For Nazi Gold

Nazi's - Dark Fellowships $5.99 Nazi's - Dark Fellowships

Nazi's - The Occult Conspiracy $5.99 Nazi's - The Occult Conspiracy

Military History Collection - The Nazi's $71.99 Military History Collection - The Nazi's

Surf Nazi's Must Die $10.99 Surf Nazi's Must Die

Nazi Zombie Death Tales $13.99 Nazi Zombie Death Tales

Inside the Nazi War Machine $14.99 Inside the Nazi War Machine

Nazi Secrets Revealed - $34.99 Nazi Secrets Revealed -

Nazi Election Meeting $24.99 Nazi Election Meeting - Photographic Print

Nazi Women Rally $24.99 Nazi Women Rally - Photographic Print

Downed Nazi Bomber $24.99 Downed Nazi Bomber - Photographic Print

Nazi Storm Troopers $24.99 Nazi Storm Troopers - Photographic Print

Nazi Sailing Cadets $24.99 Nazi Sailing Cadets - Photographic Print

Nazi Plunder: Great Treasure Stories of World War II $15.54 World War II was the most devastating conflict in human history, but the tragedy did not end on the battlefields. During the war, Germany--and, later, the Allies--plundered Europe's historic treasures. Between 1939 and 1945, German armed forces roamed from Dunkirk to Stalingrad, looting gold, silver, currency, paintings and other works of art, coins, religious artifacts, and millions of books and other documents. The value of these items, many of which were irreplaceable, is estimated in the billions of dollars. The artwork alone, looted under Hitler's direction, exceeded the combined collections of the Metropolitan Museum, the British Museum, and the Louvre. As the war wound to its conclusion in 1945, occupying forces continued the looting. The story of these celebrated works of art and other vanished treasures--and the mystery of where they went--is a remarkable tale of greed, fraud, deceit, and treachery. Kenneth Alford's "Nazi Plunder" is the latest word on this fascinating subject.

The Nazi Primer $19.97 An instructional book intended for Hitler Youth and other young readers to indoctrinate them into the Nazi philosophies, this book remains a fascinating fascist document worthy of study. Within its pages you can see how Nazi propagandists distorted science, history, and literature to propagate their Aryan ideals.

Nazi Psychoanalysis $72 In volume II, Crypto-Fetishism, Rickels demonstrates the surprising degree to which the Nazi moral system parallels that of psychoanalysis, particularly in their common projection and protection of homosexuality.

Dachau Nazi Prison Camp $79.99 Dachau Nazi Prison Camp - Premium Photographic Print

Czech Nazi Ernst Kundt $79.99 Czech Nazi Ernst Kundt - Premium Photographic Print

Nazi Commando Raid $34.99 Neville Dear Nazi Commando Raid - Giclee Print

The Soup Nazi $87.62 High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles The Soup Nazi is the title of the 116th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, which was the 6th episode of the 7th season. It first aired in the United States on November 2, 1995 and is considered a classic episode of the series.The Soup Nazi is also the nickname of the titular character played by Larry Thomas. The term Nazi is used as an exaggeration of the excessively strict regimentation he constantly demands of his patrons. Author: Surhone, Lambert M./ Timpledon, Miriam T./ Marseken, Susan F. Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 128 Publication Date: 2010/06/13 Language: English Dimensions: 5.98 x 9.01 x 0.30 inches