Well the thing is, this was created specifically for the stillborn 1939 Berlin to Rome race, to celebrate the alliance of Italy and Germany and demonstrate the superiority of the Aryan race.
So while all 1930's German cars are Nazis, some are more Nazi than others...
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
Visca Catalunya!
I get that, but I don't understand why people get their panties in a knot once something has a bad connotation. I mean, couldn't we just appreciate something for what it is- an exemplary specimen of engineering? The fact that it was built during the Nazi regime is regrettable, but you can't deny the engineering prowess behind it.
I feel like these days everything is unnecessarily politicized. Not everything needs to be politicized, however.
This sounds like an incredible blunder from a highly reputable auction house. Whatever the true story is, it will be interesting to hear. Doubt it comes out.
I can't say I know much of the provenance of this car, so let me make a straw man, but can you see why some might not want to have one of the Silver Arrows that was built by slave labor in their collection? The Auto Union with the Star of David scratched into the carburetor springs hauntingly to mind. I certainly wouldn't want to own such a thing.
"Kimi, can you improve on your [race] finish?"
"No. My Finnish is fine; I am from Finland. Do you have any water?"
I can see why one wouldn't want to own one, and I didn't know there was an Auto Union with a Star of David scratched into the carburetor. That's horrific.
Yes Mr. Porsche was involved in creating tanks for the Nazi regime. Mitsubishi and Subaru also made weapons of war for the Imperial Japanese forces. Chrysler and Packard made tanks for the American war effort too. I respect the history and I am aware of the history. My grandfather lived through the occupation of Hong Kong and swore himself off of Japanese products. He still owned a National rice cooker and a Sony TV. At some point you have to move on otherwise you're just ruminating in the past.
My point is, they brought the car up to auction, people were bidding on it, and the auction house inexplicably changed the base price for the car even when people were willing to pay for it, head over heels. Like Kitdy was saying, this wasn't just any no-name auction house, this is one of the top 10 high end auction houses, likely in the world.
I wasn't saying the car should fail to sell because of its Nazi connections, just that for some reason they were just avoided apparently.
The story behind this cars auction is strange and as Kitdy says we will probably never know what is truly behind it.
Lack of charisma can be fatal.
Visca Catalunya!
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