A Mercedes Formula One car raced by Juan Manuel Fangio has sold for a record price of �19.6 ($29.6m) at auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The Mercedes W196, chassis number 00006/54, was raced by Fangio to victory in the 1954 German and Swiss Grands Prix. Fangio went on to win the world championship for the second time that year.
This chassis was one of two produced at Fangio’s request without covered wheels so he could position the car more accurately on the track while driving.
The W196 the most valuable car ever sold at auction, exceeding the 2011 sale price of a Ferrari by �9.6m. It is the highest price ever fetched by an F1 car or a Mercedes of any kind.
The car was presented at auction on an original Mercedes race car transporter.
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Images © F1 Fanatic/Joris Meuffels
Force Maikel (@force-maikel)
12th July 2013, 17:51
:-o
carbon_fibre (@carbon_fibre)
12th July 2013, 17:55
Who bought it?
the_sigman (@sigman1998)
12th July 2013, 17:56
I could buy this Mercedes (the truck of cource) :-P
matt90 (@matt90)
13th July 2013, 2:04
I don’t think you appreciate how special the truck is.
JCost (@jcost)
15th July 2013, 7:37
@sigman1998, I guess that truck is worth a huge sum as well.
bananarama (@bananarama)
12th July 2013, 17:56
What would I give to have that car .. about 19,7 million pound I guess (if I had them).
schooner (@schooner)
12th July 2013, 18:21
The transporter is just about as cool as the race car. For 19.6 million, I hope they threw that in as well!
Maksutov (@maksutov)
12th July 2013, 18:22
what a j o k e
Mads (@mads)
12th July 2013, 18:27
Let’s hope the lucky chap who bought it, has a good explanation ready for why it was such a good idea to sell the kids, the dog and the house to buy that car.
“but darling, it’s vehicle tax exempt!”
F1Yankee (@f1yankee)
12th July 2013, 18:38
£19.6 ($29.6m) most likely does not include the commission.
caci_99
12th July 2013, 18:40
Sure the Europe is in financial crisis :).
pejte (@pejte)
13th July 2013, 11:22
The Europe ?
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
12th July 2013, 18:40
It is really amazing, and probably worth that, but unfortunately, because it’s so expensive, it’ll never be used; it will be used simply to gain value, and won’t be used for its intended purpose, which makes me sad; it’s important that as many people as possible get to see cars like this hammering around race tracks, if only to educate people on the history of Formula 1, and to get people interested in it.
I can understand why the guy who bought it won’t race it, but in my opinion, cars like this are too expensive for their own good; it discourages the owners racing them and showing them to people at events such as the Silverstone Classic.
Diego (@ironcito)
12th July 2013, 22:19
To be fair, it wasn’t going to be used for its intended purpose anyway. It shouldn’t be. At most, it could be paraded around the track like Hamilton and Rosberg did a couple of weeks ago with similar cars, but they are way too unsafe to be raced nowadays.
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
12th July 2013, 22:28
It may be incredibly unsafe, but that doesn’t stop 1960s F1 cars being raced at the Silverstone Classic, and the death rate during the 60s was far worse than in the 1950s
Diego (@ironcito)
13th July 2013, 3:25
Maybe so, but I wouldn’t consider it a shame that this car won’t be raced. Not only because of safety, but because I would rather not have a millionaire crash a piece of history. I wouldn’t like to see it locked in a vault or in someone’s house either. It should be displayed in a museum, or something like that.
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
13th July 2013, 9:50
I appreciate where you’re coming from, but I believe it shouldn’t be confined to a museum; people need to hear the engine, to smell the exhaust fumes of Formula 1 of old.
There is only so much a museum exhibition can do.
Diego (@ironcito)
13th July 2013, 10:26
I’m sure that there are other cars from that era, or even accurate replicas, that could be used for demonstrations, shows, parades, the kids to climb into and take pictures, etc. It doesn’t need to be this historic and irreplaceable car in particular.
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
12th July 2013, 19:04
Just noticed; W196 sold for 19.6 million…
Jimmy Hearn (@alebelly74)
12th July 2013, 19:48
Is that something a person would restore or do you leave it as is?
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
12th July 2013, 19:57
leave it, unless the cars major controls dont work
celeste (@celeste)
12th July 2013, 20:17
I bought it… anyone wants a ride?…. Obviously a joke… I could live forever with that much money…
But even so, beautiful car…
Joe Papp (@joepa)
12th July 2013, 21:15
This isn’t one of the cars that Lewis, Nico and Michael have driven for Merc PR?
Calum (@calum)
12th July 2013, 21:50
That will pay Hamilton’s salary for this season… just! :P
JackySteeg (@jackysteeg)
12th July 2013, 21:57
Wow. And there I was feeling really good about myself for saving up £35 to go to Silverstone next week.
Jarv F150 (@jarvf150)
12th July 2013, 22:22
I guess I just want to know if it was bought for love or an investment.
It would be sad to see something like this locked in a vault to do nothing but add digits to a bank account somewhere or be traded like a bar of gold.
James Whiteley (@james)
13th July 2013, 1:09
As a guitarist I feel the same way when I see collectors with vintage 50’s and 60’s Fender Strats locked away in vaults and never ever used. What is the point? These things are to be used and enjoyed. It makes me sad.
Fisha695 (@fisha695)
13th July 2013, 1:39
They were talking about this on NBC Nightly News tonight (Brian Williams the anchor is a big motorsports fan) and it was said that the reason it went for so much was because the car WAS NOT restored and that it still had the dents, dings, rubber build-up, dirt, etc on it from it’s last race and that if it had been cleaned & restored that it wouldn’t have went for nearly as much.
Diego (@ironcito)
13th July 2013, 3:30
Does anyone know if there’s a reason for the exhaust pointing at the rear wheel? Did they use the gases to heat up the tires, or something?
For Sure (@forsure)
13th July 2013, 12:03
I love how streamlined the transporter looks, especially from the rear. Wonder if it was included in the 19.6 million pounds?
sonia luff (@sonia54)
13th July 2013, 13:43
Why shouldn’t it be driven , i had the pleasure of watching Sir Stirling Moss race his 1955 Mercedes up the hill yesterday and it sounded great
Gaston (@golarrazabal)
14th July 2013, 18:58
Now donate it to Sauber, but they would still be £400k short :(
pSynrg (@psynrg)
15th July 2013, 13:22
Fools! They could have bought 20 Bugatti Veyrons for that!