CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 45: A SMALL SHOCK OF MONEY

Apart from the first 911, three other GT3 race cars appeared in the auction.

These GT3 race cars sold for a minimum of 5 million, with the highest being a Lamborghini Huracán GT3, bought for 6.1 million.

But the person who bought it was seated far from Qin Miao and the others, so Qin Miao couldn’t see what the buyer looked like.

Additionally, there were many supercars at the auction, such as Bugatti, Pagani, and Koenigsegg.

As everyone knows, the most important items at an auction are often saved for last.

This time was no exception.

As time went by and it got closer to dinner time, luckily the organizers provided small snacks, so Qin Miao and Qimeng didn’t feel hungry.

The final item was pushed onto the stage amidst great anticipation.

As the curtain opened, a car covered by a red silk cloth appeared before everyone.

The car was very low, with a low chassis, but the body was quite long.

From Qin Miao’s judgment, the car was at least five meters long.

Judging by the raised part in the middle of the car, it seemed to be a Formula race car.

However, Qin Miao couldn’t tell which team’s car it was, since the red cloth was covering too much.

Of course, Qin Miao’s confusion didn’t last long, as the staff quickly uncovered the cloth on the race car.

The moment the car under the cloth was revealed, Qin Miao was stunned.

Because what appeared on the stage was a Mercedes-Benz F1 car.

Black side boxes and roll bars, silver shark fins, along with the iconic silver paint above the nose wing of Mercedes and the triangular symbol of Mercedes.

At first glance, Qin Miao recognized it as a Mercedes W09, an F1 Formula race car that was still active last year.

Looking at the number below the shark fin: 77.

This was the car of Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas!

Wasn’t this car still racing last year? Why is it now on the auction block?

Shouldn’t cars like this have some undisclosed technology? How can it be sold directly?

After all, there are many elements of the W09 on this year’s W10; if the competitors buy the car, wouldn’t Toto explode on the spot?

This already counts as a leak, doesn’t it? Doesn’t the FIA care?

Instantly, a heap of doubts filled Qin Miao’s mind.

But while he was pondering, the auctioneer on stage had begun to introduce the car.

It was indeed a Mercedes W09, and it could be started to run on the track right now.

However, buying this car came with a requirement: signing a 15-year contract.

The contract was legally binding and extremely strict.

It generally meant protecting the technology of this car as much as possible.

Simultaneously, the person who purchased the car could store it as an expensive collectible.

Or they could drive it on the track occasionally; Mercedes would provide an engineer team to support the car, but costs like tires and racing fuel would be out of pocket.

However, it couldn’t be handed over for research and analysis to others.

Yet, those invited to attend the auction and have the means to obtain this car are unlikely to give it to Red Bull or Ferrari for research.

Partly because of the contract, and partly because those with spare cash to buy such a wild big toy to keep at home may not even play with it once a year, lack the incentive to hand it over to Mercedes’ competitors for the small return they’d offer.

The auction quickly began.

Seeing the starting price, Qin Miao lost track of the concept.

Because an F1 car’s starting price was 100 million RMB...

Although Qin Miao knew this was basically the cost price, including all R&D and transportation expenses for the car.

But 100 million to someone like Qin Miao, who hasn’t even seen 100,000 cash, already has lost concept.

Qin Miao even wondered if one hundred million was a little low, after all, this might just be the material cost of building this F1.

This is, after all, a Mercedes.

Soon, the price began to soar at a speed that Qin Miao and Qimeng couldn’t comprehend.

Within just five minutes, the car’s price reached 430 million.

Now, fewer people were raising their paddles to bid, but the auction was far from over, as people kept raising their paddles.

After more than ten minutes of bidding, the final price of the car was pegged at 640 million.

The one who bought it was an average-looking middle-aged man in a suit.

Qin Miao and Qimeng didn’t show much emotional reaction to the price because they couldn’t understand what exactly 640 million meant.

And just as the auction heated up on stage, Qin Miao began to look up the price for the most expensive F1 sale.

Soon he found that the most expensive was a 1954 Mercedes W196R.

This car was bought in 2013 for 19.60 million British Pounds, which was about 180 million after currency exchange at that time...

The same Mercedes, but compared to the W196R, the price of the W09 was almost triple...

Finally, Qin Miao began to suspect whether other recent F1 cars were being sold like this too, since selling these could bring a lot of funds back to the team.

And the cars of driver number one could be kept, to exhibit or do other things when the technology on those cars is no longer confidential in the future.

In any case, with the hammer falling on the final item, this auction was completely concluded.

The host appeared once more to thank the guests.

During this time, the organizers gave each guest a small gift.

And these little gifts were all different.

Ladies received exquisite necklaces or rare perfumes.

Men received watches or wristbands.

These gifts were all valued at no less than 30,000.

Qin Miao and Qimeng also received gifts prepared for them by the organizers.

Qin Miao’s gift was a bracelet made of intertwining black and gold hard lines woven using a special technique, and it wasn’t light, weighing about 200 grams, but it didn’t feel heavy to wear.

Qimeng also received a bracelet; the craftsmanship and technique were identical to Qin Miao’s, but hers was red and gold.

These were clearly a pair designed for couples in love.

Qimeng liked the bracelet quite a lot, and from the weight and gold threads woven into it, Qin Miao determined it was real gold.

Holding this valuable gift, Qin Miao felt a bit anxious.

He hadn’t done anything and didn’t have the ability to spend here.

He just received such a valuable gift from someone’s goodwill, making him feel uneasy.

However, for the organizers, a few tens of thousands was akin to a few cents in a regular person’s digital wallet; it was merely a token.

In fact, more effort went into preparing the gift than the gift’s actual value.

With so many people on site, there was generally a staff member assigned to each guest, observing the needs and analyzing what gifts the guest might like.

The staff’s salary was higher than the gift’s value.