#collectors car
1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster owned by Juan Manuel Fangio
El Maestro competed in 52 Formula One races and drove off the victor in 24 of them. That means he won nearly every other race he entered. This led to five world championships with four different teams, with the last four titles all coming year after year from 1954 through 1957.
Finished in Metallic Light Blue over a Cream leather interior, the car stayed with Fangio throughout his life, though in 1986, after he became too old to drive regularly, it was placed in the official Juan Manuel Fangio Museum, located in Fangio’s hometown of Balcarce, Argentina.
This 300 SL was no garage queen, as the condition of its leather attests. The car was originally delivered in London, after which Fangio drove it across a number of European countries as part of his ambassadorial work for Mercedes. He shipped it to Argentina in 1960 and would continue to drive it as part of his work expanding Mercedes’ operations in South America in the following decades. It’s believed that almost all of the 72,951 kilometers showing on the odometer were driven by the legend.
Photo Credit: RM Sotheby's
Words by Viknesh Vijayenthiran for MotorAuthority
Post link
Rita Hayworth’s 1941 Lincoln Continental coupe
Miss Hayworth was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the prewar period, appearing in movies like “The Lady from Shanghai” and “My Gal Sal."
The Continental was a 24th birthday gift from Orson Welles, who delivered the car to Hayworth on a movie set in Georgia. The two were married soon after.
The Continental must have made for an impressive gift. Launched in 1940 as the first Lincoln to bear that name, it was described by architect Frank Lloyd Wright as "the most beautiful car in the world."
It was a pet project of Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford, who sought to bring some European influence to American luxury cars.
Hayworth kept the Continental for about 30 years, although she donated the original bumpers to a World War II scrap drive.
The actress eventually gifted the car to her secretary Frita Wolfe, who later sold it to Aspen Pittman for $2,000. The car was then sold to the Art Astor Collection, which treated it to a full restoration.
Images Courtesy of Classic & Sports Car
Post link
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé !
The car is one of only two prototype racers developed by engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut and his team for the 1955 Carrera Panamericana. That year’s competition, though, was called off, and Mercedes abandoned motorsport entirely, all due to the infamous Le Mans tragedy that June where Pierre Levegh and his SLR catapulted into the crowd, killing the driver along with 83 spectators.
Uhlenhaut’s project was subsequently shuttered and this particular example, fit with a 297 hp inline-eight engine mated to a five-speed transmission, came into his possession. The fact that its top speed was touted to be approximately 186 mph only added to this 300 SLR’s mystique.
This $142 Million Mercedes-Benz Became on May 5 2022 the Most Expensive Car Ever Sold !
RM Sotheby’s,
Mercedes engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut with his namesake 300 SLR Coupé. Mercedes-Benz AG.
Post link
1970 Dodge Charger R/T
Mecum Auctions claims this is one of only 124 Hemi Charger R/Ts produced for the 1970 model year, and the only known example finished in B3 Blue Metallic. It’s also an early-production example, having exited Chrysler’s St. Louis assembly plant in October 1969.
Photo via Mecum Auctions
Post link
