Fangio’s Grand Prix-winning Mercedes sells for a record $29.6 million

When Bonhams announced the sale of Juan Manuel Fangio's 1954 Grand Prix-winning Mercedes W196 in March, the storied machine was expected to fetch around $7.5 million. Today, when the auctioneer's hammer fell, the Mercedes became the most valuable motor vehicle ever sold at auction, smashing the previous record with a final price of $29.6 million.

The Mercedes-Benz W196 took the legendary Fangio to his second of five world championships, winning the '54 German and Swiss Grand Prix in the process. The beautiful machine sports a 2.5-liter straight eight motor, and brought technologies such as fully-independent suspension and fuel-injected engines to Formula One. But perhaps the most amazing tale in the car's history is not its on-track success, but that it was forgotten about in a warehouse for 30 years. According to Bonhams, the owners tested the motor one last time prior to putting it in storage, where it sat until recently.