World's most expensive car is for sale. And if you think it's worth the $ 10 million asking price, is certainly extremely rare, beautiful and - like many follies in automotive history - a triumph of hubris over reason.
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| World's Most Expensive Car - Bugatti Type 41 Royale |
This Bugatti Type 41 Royale was the brainchild of Ettore Bugatti - and a hugely expensive misstep in the history of your company. In the 1920s, Bugatti was expecting to get a contract with the French military to build 16-cylinder engines of the aircraft. The contract never materialized, but Bugatti felt he could use half that engine, a straight eight, to form one of the most incredible luxury cars in history.
The Type 41 Royale had engine mass displacement: 12.7 liters, or more than 700 cubic inches, about twice the size of most of the largest production V-8 that was built by Detroit four decades later. This is still the biggest engine of any car to be sold privately.
Equally massive was the wheelbase of 15 feet when his body, was about five feet tall at the hood alone. The car was incredibly imposing, either as a limousine or sedan. Unfortunately, however, no one would buy them - production began early in the Great Depression.
The Royale was produced only six and two have never been sold, leaving the property, instead Bugatti. This car, the 1930 Bugatti Type 41 Royale Kellner Coach (or "Coupe") was one of those cars (bricked up behind a false wall during World War II). He remained with the family until 1950, when both cars were sold to American billionaire Briggs Cunningham, who was also a builder of sports cars and Le Mans 24 Hours race car driver. After more than 30 years of tenure, Cunningham eventually sold the car to its U.S. counterpart auto connoisseur Miles Collier, who placed the Kellner Coach at auction in 1987.
The car sold for a record £ 5,500,000 at the Royal Albert Hall in London before an audience of 4,000 enthusiasts. Now, the present anonymous owner - believed to be Japanese - has commissioned Bonham & Brooks in London to offer the Bugatti Royale for resale to anyone willing to pay the asking price. (Offers should be made through the offices Bonhams in London: 011 44 20 7393 3822).
Forbes Fact
Highest motor Royale, by far, were used in SNCF (French National Railway) locomotives than in cars. The French government bought several hundred of these engines and used them in pairs and even in triplicate to pull passenger cars. Unfortunately, none of these engines are believed to have survived the war.
The Type 41 Royale had engine mass displacement: 12.7 liters, or more than 700 cubic inches, about twice the size of most of the largest production V-8 that was built by Detroit four decades later. This is still the biggest engine of any car to be sold privately.
Equally massive was the wheelbase of 15 feet when his body, was about five feet tall at the hood alone. The car was incredibly imposing, either as a limousine or sedan. Unfortunately, however, no one would buy them - production began early in the Great Depression.
The Royale was produced only six and two have never been sold, leaving the property, instead Bugatti. This car, the 1930 Bugatti Type 41 Royale Kellner Coach (or "Coupe") was one of those cars (bricked up behind a false wall during World War II). He remained with the family until 1950, when both cars were sold to American billionaire Briggs Cunningham, who was also a builder of sports cars and Le Mans 24 Hours race car driver. After more than 30 years of tenure, Cunningham eventually sold the car to its U.S. counterpart auto connoisseur Miles Collier, who placed the Kellner Coach at auction in 1987.
The car sold for a record £ 5,500,000 at the Royal Albert Hall in London before an audience of 4,000 enthusiasts. Now, the present anonymous owner - believed to be Japanese - has commissioned Bonham & Brooks in London to offer the Bugatti Royale for resale to anyone willing to pay the asking price. (Offers should be made through the offices Bonhams in London: 011 44 20 7393 3822).
Forbes Fact
Highest motor Royale, by far, were used in SNCF (French National Railway) locomotives than in cars. The French government bought several hundred of these engines and used them in pairs and even in triplicate to pull passenger cars. Unfortunately, none of these engines are believed to have survived the war.
Source:forbes.com/2001/11/05/1105vow.html
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