Juan Manuel Fangio's 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 which he raced to two race wins has broken world records at auction.
The rare race car was previously tipped to reach £10 million when it was put up for sale at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on Friday. However it exceeded that and by some margin to become the worlds most expensive car ever to be sold at auction and the worlds most expensive Mercedes-Benz ever sold.
The car was originally "forgotten about" and left in a warehouse for almost three decades. Despite some cleaning work, the car still has noticeable dents and dirt from its time racing and has been sold in that condition.
It went for $29.6 million (£19.6 million) at auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed under glorious sunshine that bathed the south of England.
With a 2.5 litre straight-8 Mercedes-Benz engine powering Fangio to two race wins which were the first successive F1 race victories for the German manufacturer. It raced in five world championship-qualifying races before being retired after the 1954 Swiss Grand Prix to the Daimler-Benz museum.
The previous record for the most expensive car sold at auction was a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa which was bought for $16.4 million (£10.8 million) in 2011.
Bonhams Motoring Director James Knight told Reuters from the sale of Fangio's former race car "We've just witnessed history in the making,"
It is unknown who bought the stunning machine that is in a fantastic yet realistic condition.
Bonhams Chairman Robert Brooks said back in March that he expected the car to sell well over £5 million which was a figure that they have had a number of cars sell for previously.
Despite five decades in the business he described it as "the most exciting discovery that I've made."
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| (c) AP |
The car was originally "forgotten about" and left in a warehouse for almost three decades. Despite some cleaning work, the car still has noticeable dents and dirt from its time racing and has been sold in that condition.
It went for $29.6 million (£19.6 million) at auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed under glorious sunshine that bathed the south of England.
With a 2.5 litre straight-8 Mercedes-Benz engine powering Fangio to two race wins which were the first successive F1 race victories for the German manufacturer. It raced in five world championship-qualifying races before being retired after the 1954 Swiss Grand Prix to the Daimler-Benz museum.
The previous record for the most expensive car sold at auction was a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa which was bought for $16.4 million (£10.8 million) in 2011.
Bonhams Motoring Director James Knight told Reuters from the sale of Fangio's former race car "We've just witnessed history in the making,"
It is unknown who bought the stunning machine that is in a fantastic yet realistic condition.
Bonhams Chairman Robert Brooks said back in March that he expected the car to sell well over £5 million which was a figure that they have had a number of cars sell for previously.
Despite five decades in the business he described it as "the most exciting discovery that I've made."
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