Juan Manuel Fangio’s 1954 Mercedes W196 sold for a world record auction price of £17.5m at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The previous auction record of £11m ($16.7m) was paid for a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa in 2011. After commission and taxes are added, the sale of the W196 reaches a total of £19.6m.
Juan Manuel Fangio’s W196 went up for auction after being found in a warehouse earlier this year. Initial estimates expected the car to sell for around £5m.
Racing historian Doug Nye described it as “a beautiful survivor” when it was discovered. He told Eurosport, “The first time I saw this car I needed oxygen; it’s landmark technology and it was driven by a landmark driver. Some people think it looks grotty – that’s not the point – the really rare cars today are the unrestored ones. Every car that’s restored has lost a part of its history because it’s been obliterated by repainting or by rebuilding. Nothing’s been obliterated on this; it’s just a beautiful survivor.”
In the W196 Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1954 German and Swiss grands prix and secured the second of his five world championships.
