Fangio's F1 Mercedes W196 Car

The Mercedes-benz Formula 1 Grand Prix car that Juan Miguel Fangio drove to victory in the 1954 German and Swiss Grand Prix has been sold for a record breaking $29.65 million.

Raced over two seasons 1954 and 1955 the Mercedes W196, also driven by Sir Stirling Moss collectively won 9 out of the 12 races that it was entered in, ensuring its place in motor racing history as one of the most significant motorcars of the 20^th century.

The Mercedes W196 now enters the record books, beating the previous record set by a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa Prototype which went under the hammer for $16.4m in 2011.

The 2.5 liter straight-8 W196 had many innovations of its day such as; fuel injection, Mercedes-Benz all-independent suspension, all-round inboard-mounted brakes, Multi-tubular ‘spaceframe’ lightweight chassis design and Power take-off from the center of the engine’s long 8-cylinder crankshaft to minimize vibration.

Making it a true innovation in the Formula 1 racing world in its day and the first open-wheeled ‘slipper’-bodied post-war Mercedes-Benz to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix race. What makes this racecar even more special and why perhaps it reached such a high auction price, is that Mercedes only raced for two seasons in Formula 1 in the 1950’s and didn’t return again fully, with their own team until 2010.