THE MOST EXPENSIVE NEW CAR EVER SOLD, BUGATTI’S “LA VOITURE NOIRE” IS AT ONCE A BOLD STEP INTO THE FUTURE AND A LOOK AT THE AUTOMAKER’S PAST

BY MATTHEW MIZRACH

The famed luxury marque Bugatti unveiled a one of a kind model at March’s Geneva Motor Show. Aptly named “La Voiture Noire” (“The Black Car”), it set a record as the most expensive new car ever sold, auctioned for a weighty $12.4 million (with taxes, the final figure was $18.9 million). The proud owner is a mystery buyer who has yet to be identified as of print date, though rumors swirl that it is former Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech, who brought Bugatti into the VW Group in 1998. The car was engineered to mark the 110th anniversary of the French automaker and is in part an homage to the design of its Type 57 Atlantic, built from 1936 to 1938.

The Noire sports a 16 cylinder, 8 liter motor that outputs not a pony less than 1,479 horsepower and 1,180 lb-ft of torque. Its panther like appearance is made possible by a carbon fiber body, accentuated by growls from six (count them) tailpipes.

“Every single component has been handcrafted and the body has a deep black gloss only interrupted by the ultra-fine fiber structure,” said Bugatti designer Etienne Salomé in a press release. “This is a material that has been handled perfectly,” with brand president Stephan Winkelmann adding that the coupe combines “the comfort of a luxury limousine and the power of a hyper sports car… It is a feast of aesthetics.”

Bugatti “La Voiture Noire”
$18,900,000 / bugatti.com