Photo: Bonhams
The Mercedes-Benz W196 Formula One car that was driven by Juan Manuel Fangio to two Grand Prix victories in 1954, helping the Argentine win his second F1 Drivers' Championship, was sold for a stunning $29.6 million at Goodwood yesterday.
Auctioned at a Bonhams sale, the German race car found a new owner for $29,6 (£17,5), smashing the record set by a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa in 2011 at $16.4m (£10.8m). And by an incredible margin we may add.
"At £19.6m inclusive [commission and taxes], it's a new world record by some distance. Our own personal record of £5m was achieved last year for a Bentley. The price that we achieved today is over three times that, so it's extraordinary. We always knew that it was a very, very important car," said James Knight, group motoring director at Bonhams.
In this car, Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1954 German and Swiss Grand Prix races. The single-seater is powered by a 2.5-liter straight-eight fuel-injected engine and features an all-independent suspension and a tubular space-frame chassis design, all of which were considered innovative back in the 1950s.
"At £19.6m inclusive [commission and taxes], it's a new world record by some distance. Our own personal record of £5m was achieved last year for a Bentley. The price that we achieved today is over three times that, so it's extraordinary. We always knew that it was a very, very important car," said James Knight, group motoring director at Bonhams.
In this car, Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1954 German and Swiss Grand Prix races. The single-seater is powered by a 2.5-liter straight-eight fuel-injected engine and features an all-independent suspension and a tubular space-frame chassis design, all of which were considered innovative back in the 1950s.
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