Juan Manuel Fangio’s Grand Prix-winning Mercedes heads to auction

The most important racing car to hit the auction block in years will roll in front of bidders this July 12: Juan Manuel Fangio’s Grand Prix winning Mercedes-Benz W196 — after being "forgotten about" in a warehouse for 30 years.

The 2 1/2-litre straight-8, bearing chassis number "00006," won both the 1954 German and Swiss Formula One Grand Prix races at the hands of five-time World Champion Fangio, and stands to make an immaculate hallway decoration for the wealthy collector when the machine goes to auction at Bonhams' sale during the Goodwood Festival of Speed. And despite being nearly abandoned, it should fetch at least $7.5 million.

The W196 brought innovative technologies to Formula One such as a fuel-injected engine, fully independent suspension, all-round inboard-mounted brakes, and an inline (or lay-down) engine with the goal of creating a lower center of gravity. However, the original W196 Stromlinienwagen was produced with enclosed wheels, and despite finishing first and second in its first race, it was deemed too difficult to place at the more technical racetracks. Mercedes, taking Fangio’s critique to heart, created the open-wheel W196, numbered "00005" and "00006." Fangio took the "00006" to victory in its first attempt at the German Grand Prix.