Photo: Phil.beis

by Alex Penfold

Santa's elves got an upgrade.

Mercedes 300SL Roadster

Image by Fred Falco || IG

Mercedes/Benz - 300 SL - Rodaster

Il Silente Loquace ©

— @ilsilenteloquaceblog

Former F1 World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio poses with his beautiful 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster

Juan Manuel Fangio is still regarded as the best F1 driver of all time, especially considering he won titles while racing for four different brands: Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Maserati. In retirement, Fangio built a museum documenting his career and one of the most beautiful pieces from the Mercedes-Benz floor was a 300 SL Roadster he received as a farewell gift.

The 1958 #Mercedes-#Benz 300 SL #Roadster is the gift Daimler Benz AG prepared for Manuel Fangio when he announced his retirement in 1958. The roadster was painted Metallic Light Blue over Crème in a similar motif to the Argentinian national flag. The 300 SL still has the patina from El Maestro intact and unchanged. This means the gear selector, steering wheel, and seats have not been replaced, and the leather-trimmed underside of the dashboard still reveals wear from Fangio’s knees as he shifted gears.

Fangio had the car as his regular daily driver throughout his retirement. It has 72,951 km (45,329 miles) on the odometer, most of them covered by Fangio himself during his tours throughout Europe and Argentina.

https://classiccarcuration.co.uk/juan-manuel-fangios-mercedes-benz-300-sl-is-up-for-sale/300 SL Roadster

Juan

Mercedes Benz 300SL

The 1959 Mercedes 300SL Roadster is undeniably an incredibly sexy machine.

Mercedes 300 SL Roadster