Juan Manuel Fangio’s 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster W198

Presented as a retirement gift from Mercedes-Benz to legendary racer Juan Manuel Fangio, this 1958 300SL Roadster is being offered by RM Sotheby’s in a sealed-bid auction event, held from March 21 to 25.

A matching numbers example, the SL has striking bodywork finished in Metallic Light Blue, and the cabin retains its original Cream leather upholstery. The seats, steering wheel and gearlever all show signs of use by the great Argentine, who travelled over 70,000km (43,000 miles) in the car during tours of Europe and South America.

Fangio used the Roadster for ambassadorial duties until 1986 when the supercar was placed on permanent display at the Juan Manuel Fangio Museum located in his home city of Balcarce, Argentina, where it has remained until now.

Some may not know Fangio was the official Mercedes-Benz dealer in Buenos Aires from 1951, and became President of Mercedes-Benz South America in 1974. He passed away in July 1995 at the age of 84.

The highly original cream leather interior displays a fabulous patina. Metallic Light Blue paint; all numbers match.