190 E 2.3-16
Story
The Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16 made history on 12 May 1984 at the opening of the new Nürburgring GP circuit. Mercedes handed 20 identical cars to the biggest names of the era, nine Formula 1 champions among them.
On the rain-soaked track, pole belonged to Alain Prost, but he was hit from behind on the very first lap and dropped down the order. Ayrton Senna, then a rookie just four races into his Formula 1 career, started third, fought his way to the front, and won ahead of Niki Lauda and Carlos Reutemann. For many, this victory was the moment the Senna legend began.
After the race, the winning car was sent to the Mercedes-Benz Museum, where it remains to this day. Lauda's car was sold in race specification and now belongs to a Swiss collector. The rest were reverted to factory specification and sold off. Today, the only two cars proven to retain their original race specification are Senna's and Lauda's.