A 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Stromlinienwagen, driven by Juan Manuel Fangio, could become the most expensive F1 car ever sold, with the asking price set at £41 million (€50 million) by RM Sotheby's.
This iconic model already has a prestigious track record: Fangio drove it to victory at the Buenos Aires Grand Prix in 1955, before Sir Stirling Moss set the fastest lap with the same chassis at Monza. That season, Fangio won his second world title, while Moss finished runner-up.
The current sales record for an F1 car is £19.6 million, held by another Mercedes W196R.
After being donated by Mercedes to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 1965, the car remained on display there for nearly six decades before being put up for auction.
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According to RM Sotheby's, it is the only Stromlinienwagen ever offered for sale to a private customer and one of only four W196 Rs known to have retained the “aerodynamic body” at the end of the 1955 F1 season.
