A record-shattering $29.6 million! That is the staggering price a Mercedes-Benz W196 race car just fetched at the Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed. Driven by Formula 1 icon Juan Manuel Fangio to victory in the 1954 German and Swiss Grand Prix, this legendary machine has now become the most expensive car ever sold at auction. To put this in perspective, it nearly tripled the previous record of £10 million held by a Ferrari since 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.”
Don’t miss the images below, featuring the W196 both as a museum piece and in full-throttle action.
[ Bonhams ]
