A rare Mercedes-Benz race car driven by Formula 1 legend Juan Manuel Fangio has became the most expensive car ever sold at auction, fetched an astonishing 19.6 million pounds ($29.6 million) at Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed. The car in which Fangio won both the 1954 German and Swiss Grand Prix races, smashed the existing record of £10,086,400 set by a Ferrari in 2011.
Robert Brooks, Bonhams Chairman, said: “It was a personal privilege to preside over the sale of the Mercedes-Benz W196, which is not only one of the most significant motor cars of the 20th century, but also the most important historic Grand Prix racing car ever offered for sale.”
Doug Nye, racing historian, said: “If he were here today Fangio would shake his head and smile his slow smile. He was a humble man, originally a mechanic from a potato town in Argentina – and he never forgot his roots. As a driver, he was simply a genius. As a man he had no enemies. He was universally loved, even by those he regularly beat on track. No standard-setting sportsman could have a better epitaph.”
Be sure to check out the images , including one of the car in action.
[ Bonhams ]