Mercedes-Benz sells for record $30 million

A Mercedes-Benz W196R chassis 00006/54 that achieve victory in the 1954 German and Swiss Grand Prix recently sold for nearly $30 million at auction last week.

During last week’s Goodwood Festival of Speed Bonhams auction, the classic vehicle that was driven by Juan Manuel Fangio during the 1954 German and Swiss Grand Prix sold for incredible $29,619,826 before the bidding was complete. This amount is slightly less than double the previous record price for car sold at auction. In 2011 in 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sold at Pebble Beach for $16.4 million.

Mercedes-Benz only manufactured 14 of theW196s only 10 of which exist today. After the car was retired from racing, Mercedes retain ownership of the vehicle. However, at some point it was sold, first to a British collector, then to a French collector, followed by a German collector before being bought last week at auction.

At this point it is unclear exactly who the current buyer is, but some have speculated that it could have been a representative from the Mercedes-Benz company themselves. Is been noted that the fuel injected, two framed, open wheeled legendary vehicle would be a welcome addition to the Mercedes-Benz museums existing lineup of classic vehicles. Earlier this year when news of the cars auctioned first surfaced, the Wall Street Journal approached Mercedes Benz asking if they would be interested in requiring the vehicle. The Wall Street Journal reported that Mercedes-Benz officials appeared surprised the vehicle it resurfaced and is now available for sale but refused to comment on their intent to acquire the vehicle.

Mercedes-Benz is a multinational division of the German manufacturer Daimler AG and the Benz brand is used for luxury automobiles buses, coaches and trucks. The name Mercedes-Benz first appeared in 1926 under Daimeler-Benz, but traces origins toDaimler-Moteren-Gesellschattt’s 1901 Mercedes and Karl Benz’s 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagoen which is widely regarded as being the first automobile.

Mercedes-Benz’s slogan is Das Beste oder nichts” which translated into English means “the best or nothing.” Mercedes-Benz is considered part of the “German big three” luxury automakers, along with Audi BMW. Three companies are the best-selling luxury automakers in the world.

Since the company’s inception, Mercedes-Benz is maintained a high reputation for quality and durability. Objective organizations such as JD power surveys have ranked Mercedes-Benz vehicles above average in build quality and reliability. The company makes a full line of Mercedes-Benz vehicles including the truck class, vans and even bicycles.