Mercedes sells at auction for record $30 million
A 1954 Mercedes-Benz race car sold for a record $30 million at an auction in England Friday.
While collectible cars have been sold privately for more, this is the highest price ever paid for a car at a public auction. Until today, the record had been held by a 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa Prototype which sold at an auction in California in 2011 for $16.4 million.
The Mercedes W196R Formula 1 race car, powered by a 2.5-liter 8-cylinder engine, was one of a group of race cars that won 9 World Championship-qualifying Grand Prix races in 1954 and '55.
This car, in particular, won two of those races. It was driven by legendary Argentinian-born driver Juan Manuel Fangio and is the only W196 race car not currently housed in a museum or owned by Mercedes-Benz.
http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/12/autos/mercedes-record-auction/index.html?hpt=hp_t2