Grand Prix racing · Argentina · Competition driver · not ownership

Juan Manuel Fangio

1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R · chassis 00009/54

Silver Mercedes-Benz W 196 R streamliner chassis 00009/54 displayed as race number 16 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 2013.
The actual W 196 R chassis 00009/54 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 2013, photographed by Doug4422. Its no. 16 streamliner presentation records the later Moss-at-Monza configuration, not the open-wheel no. 2 form Fangio drove to victory in Buenos Aires.Photo: Doug4422 · CC BY-SA 3.0.
Photo details

Joyride serves the 4,320 × 3,240 Commons original JPEG byte-for-byte. No crop, resize, retouching, metadata removal, generation or vehicle reconstruction; a responsive frame may crop displayed edges.

Juan Manuel Fangio wearing a racing helmet and goggles in a circa-1952 identification portrait.
Juan Manuel Fangio1952 · Identification portraitUnknown photographer / Museo Juan Manuel Fangio · Public domain in Argentina and the United States.
Photo details

Joyride serves the current 1,038 × 1,547 Commons JPEG byte-for-byte. Commons records BlueBreezeWiki’s 2014 grayscale, tonal-value and gradation adjustment to the earlier scan; Joyride applies no additional crop, resize, retouching or generation. The portrait remains separate from Doug4422’s actual-car photograph.

One chassis, two bodies, two champions

Connection
Competition driver · not ownership
When
Built in 1954 · Fangio victory January 30, 1955 · Moss at Monza September 11, 1955
Identity
Mercedes-Benz W 196 R chassis 00009/54 · 1954-specification long-wheelbase chassis · open-wheel for Fangio at Buenos Aires · later streamliner in Moss’s Monza no. 16 presentation

RM Sotheby’s identifies chassis 00009/54 as a 1954-specification long-wheelbase W 196 R first completed with open wheels. For the non-championship Formula Libre race in Buenos Aires on January 30, 1955, Mercedes installed a 3-litre sports-car engine from the 300 SLR family. Juan Manuel Fangio drove the no. 2 car to victory. This is a competition association, not evidence that Fangio owned the car.

The individual chassis then changed visible identity. For the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on September 11, Mercedes fitted 00009/54 with enclosed-fender streamliner bodywork and assigned it to Stirling Moss as no. 16. Moss retired after 27 laps but recorded the fastest lap. The licensed 2013 museum photograph shows that same chassis in its Monza streamliner presentation—not the open-wheel body or no. 2 configuration Fangio drove in Buenos Aires.

Mercedes-Benz donated the streamliner to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 1965. RM Sotheby’s sold it on the museum’s behalf for €51,155,000 on February 1, 2025, and Mercedes-AMG confirmed the chassis number, sale price and earlier race associations. The buyer was not publicly identified, so Joyride records a completed sale without naming or inferring a current owner or location.

Documented custody

Where the car went next

  1. December 15, 1954Testing begins

    RM Sotheby’s dates the first test of newly completed chassis 00009/54, then an open-wheel 1954-specification long-wheelbase W 196 R, to this day.

  2. January 30, 1955Fangio wins in open-wheel form

    Fangio drove no. 2 to victory in the two-heat Buenos Aires Formula Libre event with a 3-litre engine from the 300 SLR family. This was not a Formula One World Championship round.

  3. September 11, 1955The same chassis becomes no. 16

    With streamliner bodywork fitted, 00009/54 became Moss’s Monza car. He retired after 27 laps but set the race’s fastest lap.

  4. 1965–February 1, 2025Museum gift, then record sale

    Mercedes-Benz donated the car to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 1965. RM Sotheby’s records its €51,155,000 sale from that collection; the buyer and present custody are not identified.

Follow the evidence

Sources for this story

RM Sotheby’s exact-chassis record establishes the 1954-specification build, open-wheel Buenos Aires configuration, temporary 3-litre engine, Fangio victory, later streamliner conversion, Moss’s Monza fastest lap, Mercedes-Benz donation and 2025 museum sale. Mercedes-AMG independently confirms chassis 00009/54, the two driver associations and the sale. The 2013 photograph is the actual chassis in later Monza presentation, not the body configuration Fangio drove. No personal ownership by Fangio, unchanged components, current owner, present location, complete W 196 family coverage, exact Joyride catalog match or compatible game representation is claimed.

  • 1954 Mercedes-Benz W 196 R StromlinienwagenRM Sotheby’s · February 1, 2025 sale · reviewed 2026-10-07 · external source

    Chassis 00009/54 identity; 1954-specification completion and first test; open-wheel 3-litre Buenos Aires victory with Fangio; streamliner Monza entry with Moss; 1965 museum donation; later condition; and €51,155,000 sale.

  • The most expensive Grand Prix racing car ever soldMercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team · February 2, 2025 · external source

    Chassis 00009/54, Fangio’s Buenos Aires victory, Moss’s later Italian Grand Prix fastest lap, 1965 IMS Museum donation and €51.155 million auction result.

Reviewed

Why this is the actual car
  • Photo identity evidence

    Photographer Doug4422 identifies the August 26, 2013 image as the W 196 displayed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum and licenses the original photograph CC BY-SA 3.0.

  • Photo identity evidence

    The exact-chassis auction record identifies the IMS Museum’s no. 16 streamliner as chassis 00009/54 and documents its Monza presentation, donation history and later sale.

The matching photographer, venue, date and vehicle history establish the identification; the chassis stamp is not visible in these photographs.