A 1954 Mercedes W 196 R Formula One car once driven by Sir Stirling Moss is set to go under the hammer at auction next month with an estimate of £41 million.
This very special piece of motorsport history was raced by five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio and was also used to set the fastest lap time by Sir Stirling Moss at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix.
At the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix, the car and its driver, Fangio, took victory, which led the Argentinian racing driver to the third of his five titles that season.
The car itself is chassis number nine out of 54 and is the first of the streamliner-bodied W 196 R’s to be offered for private ownership. Meanwhile, the exterior of the car is presented in the Monza livery from the 1955 Italian Grand Prix – the last race it competed in.
In 1965, the car was donated by Mercedes-Benz to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum and has been in fastidious care for the last 59 years.
Now, however, the Mercedes will be going under the hammer at a sale conducted by RM Sotheby’s in collaboration with the museum. Taking place from February 1 in Stuttgart, Germany, the sale will see 11 of the museum’s ‘landmark automobiles’ go up for auction.
As well as the Mercedes W 196 R Formula One car, the sale also includes a Le Mans-winning Ferrari 250 LM and a 1991 Benetton B191 Formula 1 car driven by Michael Schumacher during his first full season at Benetton Racing.
