P1racenews AI automatic summary:
A Mercedes F1 car raced by Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss has sold at auction in Germany for a record £42.75 million.
The W196 R Stromlinienwagen, driven by Fangio to victory at the 1955 Argentinian Grand Prix and by Moss at the Italian Grand Prix that same year, is one of only four remaining in the world. Sold by RM Sotheby’s at the Mercedes museum in Stuttgart on behalf of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it set a record as the most expensive Grand Prix car ever sold, second only to a Mercedes 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe sold in 2022 for £113 million. Jason Vansickle, the curator for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, described it as a beautiful and historic car slightly beyond their usual scope. Fangio would clinch the Drivers’ title that season, winning four of the seven races, including the Indy 500, a tradition that lasted until 1961. The calendar was originally set for 11 rounds, but after the tragic accident at the Le Mans 24 Hours race, the French, Swiss, German, and Spanish Grands Prix were canceled, leaving Moss with a solitary win at the British Grand Prix where a theory persists that Fangio may have allowed his teammate to triumph.
