Mercedes-Benz W196; 1954
Mercedes-Benz W196; 1954
Production & VIN: 196 010 00006/54; 15 produced
Sold for: USD 29.6 million
Auction house: Bonhams; Goodwood, West Sussex, UK
Sale date: July, 2013
Seller: -
Buyer: -
The auction house Bonhams - in its Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale on 12 July 2013 - sold Mercedes-Benz W196R chassis serial '00006/54' for a new World Record £19.7-million Sterling ($29.6 million, incl. auction premium). The total bill, including UK VAT on commission charged, came to £20,896,800.00 Sterling. This high price was achieved in recognition of the fact that chassis '00006/54' is the only example of the model available in private hands - all its surviving sisters being in original manufacturer or institutional Museum hands. This particular car is also the most successful of all surviving W196R cars - being the individual driven by Juan Manuel Fangio to win the 1954 German & European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, and then adding a second consecutive victory in the 1954 Swiss GP at Berne's Bremgarten circuit. With that second race win, added to his early-season victories in the Argentine and Belgian GPs in a Maserati 250F, Fangio clinched the second of his ultimately five Formula 1 Drivers' World Championship titles.