There are plenty of well known classic cars out there, individual members of four-wheeled royalty that are amongst the most valuable automobiles in the world. They break records at auction houses, collect golden cups at the world’s most prestigious concours events, and often reside inside air conditioned private museums. The Ferrari 250 GTO is said to be the most princely of all cars sold in this rarified world, but the truth is that there’s a car out there worth more than double the most valuable Prancing Horse. A Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic known as ‘La Voiture Noire’ could be worth up to £100 million. The catch? This iconic car went missing in during the 1930s and has never been found.
The Bugatti Type 57 is a well-known legend of concours events with its advanced aerodynamic body and beautiful art deco design details collecting many a prize. This model actually started life as the futuristic Aéro Coupé that utilised lightweight Elektron composite bodywork akin to racers of the time. The car was uniquely riveted together as the highly combustable material would catch fire if welded, something that gave the car a distinctive dorsal fin.
This automotive artwork was renamed Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic for production after Jean Bugatti’s friend, aviation pioneer Jean Mermoz, was lost when attempting to fly across the Atlantic ocean. The flammable bodywork was switched for aluminium as it was easier to work with, but the elegant design remained near identical to the concept that captivated many. In total, four Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantics were built, with three of them extensively documented icons of automotive history, However, the black car, or ‘La Voiture Noire’ is French, is missing in action.
The ghost of chassis No. 57453 can be seen in period photographs of it on display at a handful of motor shows. It is then said that this Atlantic became the personal car of Jean Bugatti himself. A bit of detective work then reveals that Mr Bugatti gifted his Type 57 to racer Robert Benoist – who always admired the car – after he won the 1937 Le Mans 24 Hour. Benoist actually relocated to England in 1939, dropping off the only black Atlantic at the factory before leaving. Over the next two years it is said that the car was used by test engineers at the factory, but this Bugatti’s entire history is a bit shady as it technically never had any registered owners. Officially speaking, Bugatti lost track of the car in 1938, but rumours persists that it was smuggled to another part of France to be kept safe from the war – potentially with the modified chassis number 57454. Short of that snippet of speculation, the trail goes cold.
There are many theories around the fate of La Voiture Noire, all dictated by the course of World War 2. The Type 57 could have been transported out of France before Nazi occupation in a bid to keep the car’s technology out of German hands, but this also raises the possibility that its seafaring method of escape might have been sunk by unrestricted submarine warfare. Another popular theory that still has treasure hunters trekking across the continent is that it made good an escape by road. Other French vehicles of note have been discovered in barns and caves, long forgotten since the day they were hurriedly exported from their homeland.
The only thing we know for certain is that this car has been missing for nearly 80 years, and while its myth and legend has grown, La Voiture Noire is still a ghost. Inflation adjusted, the last Type 57 to publicly change hands sold for over £29 million. Experts now believe that should the Atlantic be found today, it could be worth up to £100,000,000 – making it the most valuable car in the world.
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Keyword: The missing Bugatti worth £100 million