The annual season-opening race in Buenos Aires was poorly-supported in 1958 with neither Vanwall nor BRM ready for action. The Ferrari team had finally replaced the old Lancias with the new Dino 156 and 246 models which had appeared in the end-of-season on-championship events the previous year and was running three cars for Mike Hawthorn, Peter Collins and Luigi Musso. Maserati was in financial trouble and withdrew its works team from F1 so private teams took over the running of the 250Fs although Juan-Manuel Fangio and Carlos Menditeguy teamed up as Scuderia Sud Americana and Jean Behra and Harry Schell both found private cars.

Stirling Moss was released by Vanwall and appeared in Rob Walker's Cooper-Climax 43.

Fangio was fastest in practice with Hawthorn, Collins and Behra alongside him on the front row of the grid. Musso, Menditeguy and Moss shared row two and the 10-car field was completed by Schell, Francesco Godia-Sales and Horace Gould.

Behra took the lead but Collins went out immediately with a driveshaft failure. On the second lap Hawthorn took the lead and he was followed past Behra by Fangio. On the tenth lap Fangio moved into the lead but now Moss was drawing attention to himself as he moved ahead of Musso, Behra and then Hawthorn. Fangio pitted for new tires and dropped behind Moss, Behra and Musso. Behra blew his chances with a spin and then Fangio's engine began to misfire and so Musso moved up to second with Hawthorn third. Expecting Moss to stop Musso did not push until too late and so finished just behind the tiny Cooper-Climax.

Moss's victory was the first for the Cooper Car Company in the World Championship and the first win for a rear-engined car since the AutoUnions of the 1930s. It was the start of the rear-engined revolution.