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Lot 1/5 · Race Cars2013
#1 Most Expensive
The ItemMercedes-Benz W196

The car Juan Manuel Fangio drove to a world championship became the most expensive Formula 1 car ever sold.

$29,600,000

The Item

Mercedes-Benz built the W196 for the 1954 and 1955 F1 seasons, and this particular chassis was the one Fangio used to win the 1954 German and Swiss Grands Prix on his way to the championship.

It represents one of the most successful early F1 designs ever raced.

Why It's Obscene

Bonhams sold it in 2013 for $29.6 million, a record for any F1 car that has stood for over a decade.

It has held despite the sport's modern cars generating vastly more attention and money than they did in the 1950s.

Mercedes-Benz W196Verified · Public record
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