Seventy years after Juan Manuel Fangio dominated the championship in the Mercedes W196, this legendary car is set to go under the hammer. The Mercedes will be auctioned off in May, and it is expected to fetch a price tag of over fifty million euros.
The legendary driver Juan Manuel Fangio won the world championship five times, four of which were between 1954 and 1957. In the first two years of this four-year period, the Argentine won the title in the Mercedes W196. This was the last time until Lewis Hamilton in 2014 that Mercedes won the drivers’ title. Fangio also won his home race in 1955 in the same Mercedes car. The W196 won a total of eleven times in fourteen starts and was also driven by Fangio’s teammate, Stirling Moss.
Most Expensive F1 Car Ever?
The Mercedes W196 carries a significant amount of history, and according to estimates, it could potentially be auctioned off as the most expensive Formula 1 car ever. The car is expected to fetch more than 50 million euros. The specific car being auctioned by RM Sotheby’s, chassis 00009/54, has been restored and retains its original livery and even the race number used during the Italian Grand Prix in 1955.
This will be the second time a Mercedes W196 goes under the hammer. In 2013, a 1954 model fetched more than 22 million euros. The car is being offered from the collection of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.
