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Fangio’s 1954 Mercedes W196R F1 car sells for £19.6 million (video)

Fangio’s 1954 Mercedes W196R F1 (pictured) sells for £19 million The Goodwood Festival of Speed is all about cars and performance, but it’s not just cars on the ground and on the hillclimb. Goodwood is a Mecca for wealthy petrolheads as well as those who can only lust after the finest motoring metal – classic and current – so it’s a sensible place to run an auction for high-end cars. And you can’t get much more ‘high-emd- – at least in terms of value – than Juan Manuel Fangio’s 1954 Mercedes W196R Formula One car which went under the hammer yesterday at Bonham’s Goodwood auction, and reached a world record auction price of £19,601,500 (including premium – £17.5m before).

Giles Taylor appointed Head of Exterior Design at Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce will be welcoming Giles taylor as its a new Head of Exterior Design in April this year. Taylor, who has spent the last 10 years in British automotive design roles and headed up the design team who created the XK and XJ model series under the direction of Ian Callum at Jaguar, will fill the vacant position in the Rolls-Royce design team. He will be based in West Sussex, UK, and report to Rolls‑Royce's Chief Designer, Ian Cameron.

Fuel duty freeze is 'no give-away'

MOTORING GROUPS have given a cautious welcome to Chancellor George Osborne's announcement of a freeze on fuel duty until May 2015. But Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin's insistence on the value of HS2 to the UK cut little ice with opponents of the high-speed rail scheme. On fuel duty, both the AA and the RAC pointed out that Mr Osborne was already getting big sums from motorists in taxation.