Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton’s 2013 Mercedes F1 race car was auctioned at the first-ever Las Vegas Grand Prix and fetched a whopping $18.8 million (Rs 156.7 crore). The W04 chassis no.4 was Hamilton’s first car at Mercedes after joining the team in 2013, and got the driver his first win for the team. The winning bid shocked everyone, exceeding the pre-sale estimate of between $10-15 million as per the auction house RM Sotheby’s.
The sale saw a hammer price of $17.1 million plus a 10 per cent buyer’s premium, bringing the total to $18.8 million. It took place in the Awakening Theater at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel. This particular Mercedes W04 was driven by Hamilton for 14 out of 19 races during the 2013 F1 season. The British driver would win the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix in this car, making him the first British driver to win in a Mercedes since Sir Stirling Moss’s win at the 1955 British GP.
Hamilton would go on to finish fourth in the drivers’ championship in 2013, scoring four podiums through the season, of which three (Malaysia, China and Belgium) were in this car. Chassis no. 4 has also become the first Hamilton-driven Mercedes F1 car to be publicly sold. It is also the most money paid publicly for a modern F1 car to date.
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The race car was powered by a 2.4-litre V8 engine that would redline up to 18,000 rpm, while producing 740 bhp and an additional 79 bhp through the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS). The motor was paired with a 7-speed semi-automatic transmission, developed jointly with Xtrac. It was the first F1 car to feature the front-to-rear inter-connected suspension (FRIC) for improved mechanical grip. It’s also the last Mercedes F1 car with a high nose.
Lewis Hamilton would later go on to win six of his seven world titles with Mercedes while contributing to the manufacturer’s eight consecutive constructors’ standings.
