The car of the legendary Argentine driver Juan Manuel Fangio became the most expensive in the history of Formula 1 after being recently auctioned. It is the 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Stromlinienwagen, which Fangio used to win the Argentine Grand Prix in 1955.
The auction took place at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, conducted by RM Sotheby's. The vehicle was sold for the impressive sum of $53,917,370, equivalent to €51,155,000. This price surpassed the previous record, which also belonged to a car driven by Fangio, the Mercedes Benz W196R auctioned in 2013 for nearly €23 million.
The 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Stromlinienwagen, besides being the most expensive car in the history of Formula 1, became the second most valuable car sold at auction. The first place is held by the Mercedes 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, purchased by a private collector in 2022 for $143 million.
Juan Manuel Fangio, who passed away on July 17, 1995, at the age of 84, is recognized as one of the greatest legends in the history of motorsport. His five Formula 1 championships won in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, and 1957 establish him as an exceptional driver in the sport.