مجله خودرو ام وی ام

A 2013 Mercedes-AMG Petronas W04 Formula 1 car driven by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton sold for $18.815 million at a recent RM Sotheby’s auction in Las Vegas. That beat the pre-auction estimate of $10-$15 million. It also beat the previous modern F1 car record of $14.9 million for an ex-Michael Schumacher 2003 Ferrari F1 set last year.

Hamilton and Mercedes have been one of the winningest combinations in F1 history, as the Brit won six of his driver’s championships with the team. It all started in 2013, when Hamilton switched from McLaren to Mercedes—a team then on the rise.

2013 Mercedes-Benz AMG W04 Formula 1 car driven by Lewis Hamilton – Photo credit: RM Sotheby’s

After years of supplying engines, Mercedes stepped up and bought what had been the Brawn GP team (and prior to that Honda), transforming it into a factory team for the 2010 season. Even with the legendary Michael Schumacher partnering with the promising Nico Rosberg, the team required several years of rebuilding to become competitive again. Hamilton replaced Schumacher for the 2013 season, just as that rebuilding period was bearing fruit.

The car sold at auction is chassis F1W04-04, which Hamilton drove in 14 of the 19 races in the 2013 season, including a win at that season’s Hungarian Grand Prix and third-place finishes in Malaysia, China, and Belgium. The Hungarian Grand Prix win was Hamilton’s first in a Mercedes F1 car.

2013 Mercedes-Benz AMG W04 Formula 1 car driven by Lewis Hamilton – Photo credit: RM Sotheby’s

This was also the last season for F1’s naturally aspirated 2.4-liter V-8 engines. The W04’s engine boasts an 18,000-rpm redline and produces 750 hp, with an additional 80 hp available in short bursts from a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS). For 2014, F1 switched to its current turbocharged 1.6-liter V-6 hybrid powertrain format. Mercedes was initially well ahead of rivals in both power and reliability, setting the team up for years of dominance.

That dominance has receded faster than an F1 car being overtaken on a long straight. Hamilton won his last driver’s championship in 2020, and Mercedes took an additional constructor’s championship in 2021. But since then Red Bull and Max Verstappen have been the combination to beat. Chassis F1W04-04 is a reminder of when Hamilton’s greatest period of success was still in the future.

When media theorist Marshall McLuhan famously said that “the medium is the message,” he wasn’t referring to The Sphere in Las Vegas, but it would have fit perfectly into his philosophy.

For example, there’s this: to introduce its advertising campaign for the new 2025 Countryman Electric model, the folks at Mini will employ the 366-foot-tall and 516-foot-wide out-of-this-world Sphere to debut creative images and videos “revealing” the new vehicle.

“We wanted to think of this campaign as an art piece, not as an ad,” said Rob Lambrechts, Chief Creative Officer at Pereira O’Dell, MINI’s ad agency on the project. “People are coming to Sphere to have fun and be entertained, so we needed to integrate MINI in the least intrusive way possible.”

Least intrusive? McLuhan might’ve asked whether the idea would draw more attention to the medium or would it amplify the intended message. At any rate, the car rendered on the Sphere is pretty nifty.

In Vegas, a town not lacking in spectacular landmarks, the free-standing Sphere has dominated the visual landscape since it opened in September. The structure was funded in part by James Dolan, who oversees a family empire that includes Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall, the Knicks and the Rangers. Dolan’s over-the-top investment, with its 700,000 square feet of programmable video screens, cost $2.3 billion to build.

As for the new Countryman, the all-electric SUV will start at $46,195, including destination of $995, when it goes on sale. Output is rated at 313 horsepower and 363 pound-feet of torque. Range on a single charge is estimated at 245 miles, and the 0-60 time is 5.6 seconds. It can be reserved now. The Countryman S All4 and JCW are expected to begin reaching dealers in the spring with the electric versions coming a few months later.

MINI’s takeover of Sphere will run until December 2, with a special four-hour takeover on December 1.

McLuhan, to finish the thought, believed that people should observe not only the media itself but “the ways in which each new medium disrupts tradition and reshapes social life.” Viva Las Vegas.

Related video: