1955 Nomura, Mercedes Benz W196 Speed Racer in Original Box
Outstanding toy example of the legendary Formula 1 Mercedes Benz W196 Racer. Awesome tin litho friction drive streamliner, manufactured jointly by Nomura and Mitomo, complete with its original box. Purchased from the original owner who indicated that the friction drive was broken ever since new. I've since had the drive repaired and it works great. Essentially the toy has never been played with. The actual W196 car was retired after racing for just 14 months. It scored an incredible nine wins out of twelve Grand Prix starts. The sleek supercar was immortalized by Andy Warhol in his painting called simply "CARS" (see photo below). The toy is characterized by embossed raised fenders front and back. The front pair are slightly narrower giving it a more arrow-like appearance. The sparking mechanism located directly behind the driver is covered with a red, transparent plastic housing and it works great. A figural three-dimensional helmeted driver sits in the cockpit. The underside chassis is a solid black lithoed embossed plate. The tires are black rubber with white metal centers. The body is metallic silver-blue with a large red diamond outlined in yellow centered over the cockpit. Four side pipes extend backwards from the engine on both sides. Number 27 was lithoed on the front hood and rear fenders. The rear bumper includes trademarks for Nomura (TN) and Mitomo. The azure-blue colored box includes a panel wide, ¾ perspective illustration drawn in a Japanese pseudo-anime style. Interestingly the Mercedes logo was centered on the grille on both the top cover and side panels, but there is no logo on the car itself. The side panels show the opposite side of the car in a similar perspective drawing. The box is also marked with the Nomura and Mitoma trademarks. Size: 11" x 4" x 2½". Sold: Feb. 2008
Price Sold: $ 230
