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| Photo courtesy of Motorshout.com |
A Mercedes Formula One car has been discovered in a warehouse after being abandoned for over thirty years.
The W196 model is the car former World Champion, Juan Manuel Fangio drove in the 1954 season.
The Argentinian driver drove to four consecutive titles between 1965 and 1957 and is widely considered one of the greats of the sport.
The 'Silver Arrow' car had been untouched in the warehouse for over thirty years until earlier this year and is considered by auctioneers as 'one of the most important F1 cars of all time.'
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| W196 interior. Courtesy of Peachparts.com |
Racing historian Doug Nye said: "The first time I saw this car I needed oxygen. It's landmark technology and it was driven by a landmark driver."
"Some people think it looks grotty - that's not the point - the really rare cars today are the unrestored ones," Said Nye, who declined to reveal the location of the warehouse.
"Every car that's restored has lost a part of its history because it's been obliterated by repainting or by rebuilding. Nothing's been obliterated on this, it's just a beautiful survivor."
The car will now be auctioned off at the GoodWood Festival of Speed and is expected to fetch over £5 Million.
Car enthusiast Robert Gerald spoke exclusively to TheDRSzoneF1, he said: "I would love to have it, it would be more than owning a car, it would be owning a piece of history."
Robert, believes you cannot put a price on a car like this, "It is a lot of money, I cannot deny that but for what it is, you cannot put a price on that, it is less than one in a million," he said.
"Whoever gets it, I hope it is up and running again before long, cars like that need to be shown to the world, it has been hidden away for far too long."
Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of Fangio winning the World Drivers Championship' in the car, so it would be fitting for the car to be ready for then.
Written By Ben Kelbrick
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