Bugatti’s New Hypercar Just Sold for a Record-Breaking $18.9 Million

Meet “La Voiture Noire.” That’s French for “filthy rich."

March 6, 2019 9:00 am

Last week, we reported that Bugatti might be bringing back the Type 57SC Atlantic, the historic model designed by Jean Bugatti back in the 1930s. Today, the French marque exposed that for what it was: a fool’s hope. But in its place, they’ve released an even rarer vehicle.

Meet “La Voiture Noire” (French for “the black car”), unveiled today at the Geneva Motor Show, a one-off hypercar that just became the most expensive new car ever sold, at a price of €11 million. In dollars, that’s $12.4 million at the time of writing. And with taxes, that comes out to [slams a shot of Pepto Bismol] $18.9 million.

In a press release, Bugatti calls it “a sculptural beauty” with an “elegant waistline.” We call it one fender bender away from bankruptcy. But on a serious note, this is an undeniable masterpiece of automotive craftsmanship.

La Voiture Noire (7 images)

The body is carbon fiber. The design is seamless. The windscreen flows into the windows “like the visor on a helmet.” The engine is a W16 — yes, that means 16 cylinders in a W shape, an engine only produced by the Volkswagen Group, who own Bugatti. All that blue-chip machinery offers up enough power to satisfy the speediest of demons: 1479 HP and 1180 lb.-ft. of torque, to be exact.

It’s a car built for a modern-day Daddy Warbucks. It might as well be, because Bugatti notes that La Voiture Noire “has already been sold to a Bugatti enthusiast,” but declines to name names. We, however, are more than happy to out the buyer. In our previous article, we mentioned that Bugatti agreed to build a one-off Type 57SC Atlantic for Ferdinand Piëch for a cool $18 million. Well, here’s an $18 million Type 57SC inspired Bugatti with an anonymous buyer. You put two and two together.

If the name Piëch rings a bell, that’s because he’s the former chairman of the Volkswagen Group, and his son is behind one of the most inconceivable EVs on the market.

So what did we all learn today? It’s good to be part of a legendary automotive family.

You can read more about La Voiture Noire here.

Images courtesy of Bugatti

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