Juan Manuel Fangio’s title-winning Mercedes F1 car from 1954 gets sold for $50,000,000+

Formula 1 legend Juan Manuel Fangio's title-winning Mercedes W196R, fetched a record-breaking price at a recent auction. The iconic 'Stromlinienwagen', a streamlined version of the W196 R model fetched around $53.9 million (€51,155,000), making it the most expensive F1 car.

At a recent auction organized by RM Sotheby's held at the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart, the W196 R Stromlinienwagen chassis 00009/54, driven by F1 legends Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss fetched the record-breaking sum by an undisclosed bidder.

The iconic piece of F1 history was initially stored in the Daimler-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, before being transferred to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1965. The W196 R streamliner is almost twice as expensive as the Fangio-driven W196, which sits second on the list of most expensive F1 machinery, at $29.6 million.

The W196 R Stromlinienwagen is also the second most expensive sports car, behind Mercedes' 1955 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, which fetched a sky-high $140 million in May 2022.

After the Second World War, Mercedes entered F1 in 1954 with the W196, joining forces with then-Maserati driver Fangio at the French GP. Driving the streamlined W196R 'Stromlinienwagen' on high-speed circuits, he went on to clinch the title with Mercedes in 1954 and '55.

Fangio won the 1955 Argentine GP with the 00009/54 chassis, which is now F1's most expensive car. The specific chassis made its last appearance in the 1955 Italian GP at Monza, with Moss behind the wheel of the streamliner.

As quoted by Reuters, Marcus Breitschwerdt, the Head of Mercedes-Benz heritage, described the W196 R Stromlinienwagen as 'the most beautiful race car in the world and ever'. He added that the streamliner's top speed was over 186.11mph (300kph) and it wouldn't take much effort to restore the 00009/54 chassis to driving condition.

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Exploring the reason behind Mercedes' sudden F1 exit

Despite achieving tremendous success with the W196 model between 1954 and '55, a catastrophic Le Mans accident led to the German manufacturer's withdrawal from motorsports.

During the 1955 24-Hour Race at Le Mans, Pierre Levegh, driving a Mercedes 300 SLR crashed into the crowd after hitting Austin Healey driver Lance Macklin. It resulted in the death of 83 spectators and Levagh, leaving a long-lasting impact on motorsports.

Mercedes returned to motorsports in the mid-80s as an engine manufacturer in Sportscar racing. The outfit returned to F1 as an engine manufacturer in 1994, later partnering with McLaren. The German manufacturer took over the Brawn F1 team in 2010, entering F1 as a works team after a 55-year hiatus.

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes went on to rewrite the history books, with the team winning eight constructors' championships.