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I don't believe in rumors, but the word going around the morning of the Concours on Rodeo was that this 1931 Bugatti Royale (ID# 41111) was sold in early June for $17 million, thus making it the priciest automobile in history. This particular Royale has a Coupe de Ville body built by Parisian master coachbuilder, Henri Binder. This Royale was once driven 300 miles from Nevada to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where it promptly won its class and Best of Show. This Royale is 1 of 6 made during the production run starting in 1927 and ending in 1933. A Royale chassis (no bodywork) cost $25,000 and this completed Royale cost $42,000 in 1931. Depression? What Great Depression? Clearly the most expensive car ever produced. The powerplant of this 3-1/2 ton masterpiece of engineering is a 13 liter straight-eight with a single overhead cam. The result is 300bhp. All of which is desperately needed to move the chassis and its 170" (tad over 14 feet) wheelbase. In comparison, the largest Cadillac chassis that I know of is the 1932 Fleetwood Special that rode on a 165" wheelbase and was powered by a paltry 165bhp V16. Nothing like cubic inches to motivate a couple of tons of elegance. |