Bugatti La Voiture Noire: The Most Expensive Car This World Has Ever Seen

This year’s recently concluded Geneva Auto Show introduced the world to a supercar that seems unlike any other we have ever seen, The Bugatti La Voiture Noire was introduced to the world as a beast of a car with luxuries beyond imagine. This sleek, powerful and immensely luxurious machine has a price tag that couldn’t even be imagined some years ago. At a whopping $12 Million Dollars of cost without the taxes, this brand new Bugatti is a limited edition which has been launched to celebrate the 110th anniversary of this French Automobile Powerhouse.

Based on the same concepts as the Bugatti Chiron, this is a modern reinterpretation of the vintage 1962 Type 57 SC Atlantic from way back in the 1930s. Joining Divo as the third Chiron based car, one major thing that separates this one from both Chiron and Divo is that it’ll always be the unique car with whosoever owns it because it is always going to remain a single unit ever built. Although different in detailing and outer style, the La Voiture Noir remains the same as the Chiron under the hood where it really matters so there won’t really be any difference between the two hypercars when it comes to performance.

Before we discuss in detail about this unique car, let us just have a look at the specifications of the car which are given below:-

Horsepower @ RPM: 1479 @6700

Displacement: 8.0L

Top Speed: 260 mph

Car Segment: Supercar

Car Style: Coupe

Engine: W16 8.0L

Torque @ RPM: 1180 @6000

0–60 mph: 2.4 sec

Price: $12 Million before Taxes

The History of La Voiture Noire

Although it seems like La Voiture Noire is a car built specifically built for the Bugatti PR team, this car can find the traces of its existence in the Atlantic models of the 1930s which were remotely similar to this hypercar. It all started with the Aerolithe prototype of the well famed Atlantic series from the 1930s with Aerolithe coming in 1935 and further subsequent models numbering to four coming in subsequent years 1936 and 1938 with each created specifically for a single person.

Although 3 of these are still in existence the fourth one was lost during the German invasion of Alsace and was never found since even after 80 years of search.

The missing car is the second in the Atlantic series numbered 57453 and was named the LA Voiture Noire plus it was supposedly driven by Jean Bugatti himself. The car was last seen in 1941 back in Bugatti factory and was lost during the German invasion of France, enthusiasts have been searching for the enigmatic car since.

Drivetrain and Engine

The La Voiture Noire is a standard Chiron when it comes to the machinery that is under its hood. Although it might seem a bit disappointing for those excited for the car, one should not forget that this monster manages to crank out a massive 1497 Horsepowers with 1180 Lb-ft of Torque coming out of an 8L W16 Engine. Now just think a bit about the 135 Horsepower 1936 Atlantic and you’ll just see what Bugatti has been doing all these years.

While it is not the most powerful with the new Koenigsegg Jesko and SSC Tuatara delivering 1578 Hp and 1750 Hp on E85 biofuel respectively, it is still safe to say that this car will be at par with the Chiron and Divo.

Standing out at a bit more heavier than most cars in the category, the LA Voiture Noire is expected to come at the same weight as Divo at 4300 pounds just because it is so closely based on the car mentioned. This makes this car heavier than the majority of cars of the segment which weigh around 2700 to 3300 lbs.

The Exterior

The real difference that makes this car stand out from both standard Chiron and the lighter Divo is its exteriors and interiors. Notably, it still possesses the iconic Horseshoe grill so prevalent in the Bugatti’s of this age, but except that everything else seems to be a lot different from Chiron and remotely similar to DIvo.

Having similar splitters and bumper vents to Divo doesn’t even make it look similar because of the added aggressive look they have got in this car. With no information available on the subject, we can only speculate that the aerodynamics of the car have been changed a bit.

One notable change that you can recognize is the changed headlights and LEDs that are not similar to Divo, the pattern is almost as if made out of diamonds and the headlamps are a lot bigger than Divo. Additionally, the front hood misses the vents we see on DIvo and louvres on the front fenders have been removed,

Since it is based on the iconic Atlantic, you need to have some similar features and we have found two of these features. First is the alignment of the front window wipers that rest vertically and the center of the windscreen, and also the fin on the roof just like the Type 57 Atlantic. The wipers stimulate the split window design of Type 57 while the fin replicates the central fin that used to keep the two-piece body together. A feature of the earlier Bugatti’s used to be the rivets that were used to keep the body of the car together due to once explosion while welding on the Aluminium bodies so the central fin used to be instrumental in keeping the body together, today it’s just the replication of that iconic feature.

Coming to the car profile, Bugatti has made changes when you compare it to Divo and Chiron, with a more angular roofline as opposed to the C-shaped trademark design, added new side skirts, less aggressive aero fenders and finally a two-tone design on the wheels with the silver paint on five spokes extending onto the tires as well.

Reshaped cabins and side skirts make this car look different from both Chiron and Divo because as opposed to general hypercars this one looks like a grand tourer or a squashed Corvette (pun intended).

Last bit of change you can see in this car is at the back of it, with the wing and vertical fin unlike the race-inspired Divo but just as aggressive as the former one. The thing responsible for this monster look is four vertical fins and a whopping 6 exhaust pipes. This layout also tributes the Atlantic with its fin that descends from the roof to upper deck lid and the arched engine hood that represents the boat-tail design of the Atlantic.

The last element that makes this car unique is the black carbon fiber body painted in gloss black paint with carbon fiber visible at just some points such as the diffuser, bumper, side skirts and splitter.

The Insides

Bugatti didn’t mention anything about the interiors even at the launch in Geneva Motor Show, plus even the pictures of the car aren’t available only one or two stock images of the interiors. Although judging by how big a fan of the Atlantic the owner might be, we think ideally he would’ve gone for an all-black leather interior or a combination of brown and black, just like the Atlantic.

As far as the interior design is concerned, we expect the car to be highly based on the Chiron, even Divo was just like that because of the simple fact that Chiron is, in fact, a customizable car.

Whatever the case with the finishing options, one thing is for sure that we can be safe to assume that the La Voiture Noire features the same race-inspired seats, clean dashboard designs and wide central console. The flat bottom steering is also expected to include Alcantara inserts for better gripping and larger shift paddles.

Lastly, if the car is really based on the Divo, then it should also lack storage compartments on the central console and door compartments. Bugatti removed them to save weight, the same reason why insulation was also made thinner.

Pricing

This is a single unit model and the French car giant won’t be making another car of this kind ever again. This uniqueness is the reason why Bugatti sold it to an anonymous Bugatti lover for an insane amount of $12.4 million without taxes and if we are to trust the popular word, that comes up to close to $18.9 million after taxes. This deal makes La Voiture Noire the most expensive car ever sold above Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta( $17.5 million), Rolls Royce Swept ($13 million). That is three times more than Divo and six times more than Chiron, it’s just crazy and insane!

Final Thoughts

As a unique and a really expensive car, this one is a vehicle which we might never get the opportunity to see live on the road. The Geneva Motor Show remains and is expected to remain one of the only public appearances that this car will ever make. Besides that, the owner will want to keep this safe in a garage for himself to admire it. Although the real question is whether the company can justify such a hefty sticker? The answer to it remains that with the specification and how unique the car really is, till the car enthusiasts and lovers are ready to pay hefty sums like these, the companies like Bugatti will continue to produce car such as these.