The most expensive car key ever!
One of the six fact, it is now on sale for about Ј10 million Martin Buckley flew to Japan for the lead.
Fly to Japan to lead a Royal Seems a long way to go a ride in a seventies Vauxhall But no, this is not some forgotten luxobarge of badge engineering; this is your real Bugatti Royale - one of six and the car of the world's most famous and valuable, or at least the most valuable car you can actually buy.
The example in question is the last-but-one Royale, the Kellner-body, ex-Briggs Cunningham Car Today he lives in an underground car park in a suburb of Tokyo We first caught a glimpse of his form hulking in the shadows, tended to by a pair of numbers out of scale that have realized the giant 70 year old for the first time in months that I can take the wheel.
It was this same machine that caused such a sensation when Robert Brooks, who was then working for Christie's, sold for 5 million Ј5 Royal Albert Hall in 1987. The buyer was then a Swedish real estate magnate named Hans Thulin , who had to sell the car when his empire collapsed.
It is still, officially, the most valuable car ever auctioned a Ferrari 250 GTO was then hammered for more, but the full figure was never carried out and is expected to more than Ј10 million, although this once, it must be sold by private treaty.
The greatest of all luxury cars, Royal was so pompous and arrogant in its concept that even the aristocrats to whom it was intended in the late twenties had the front - or perhaps money - d buy one at the cost of a Rolls-Royce twice.
Although the intention was to sell the cars for royalty, it seems likely that the pitch of Ettore Bugatti, if any, fear of potential customers far and offended protocol Well, not Royal never bought a Royal and it would five years before a single example has been sold.
Until then, such as depression began to take hold, money from everybody was pretty good, blue blood or not.
The same is true today, even if the auctioneer Bonhams and Brooks is under no illusions that the new owner will be a bit flighty millionaire new technology that thinks it might be sexy to have an old car.
Only serious collectors must apply the new owner probably t won even be a Bugatti collector, said Simon Kidstone our chaperone during the audience with the Royal, but he will have had his 540K Mercedes and Alfa 2 9s and the search for next step, the ultimate collector's car.
To market the car quietly, Bonhams and Brooks produces a hardback booklet, no doubt, a collectible in itself, but it must be satisfied that you are a serious candidate before sending.
In the late fifties, at dawn collector car hobby, Royal was already considered the biggest prize of all that time, Briggs Cunningham, the American gentleman racer, sports car manufacturer and Le Mans candidate, had already bagged two of them.
During a visit to France in 1950, a friend introduced him to Bugatti's daughter Ebe L She had three Royal unsold walled in the family home in Ermenonville They had been there for the duration of the war, to avoid be requisitioned by the Germans it has agreed to sell the travel Cunningham sedan and Kellner, but felt that Napoleon Cup, the most spectacular of all, should remain in France cars were exchanged against a small sum of money not unveiled, and two new General Electric refrigerators and not available in France Upon arrival in the States, the travel Sedan has found its place in the Harrah collection.
Kellner The car has been in Japan for over a decade now, it seems quite at odds with the modern environment Blade Runner, a 10 million dollar legend for a quiet life as a centerpiece for VIP visitors to company, we can not say that this has owned since 1990.
No society has ever driven the car, they let Mr. Banno, first specialist Bugatti Japan, which recently rebuilt his engine when he suffered a broken piston.
Where do you bit for Royal From England, it seems that the relevant elements were provided by South Cerney genius who built a replica Royal for the car enthusiast and owner of the circuit Donington Park Tom Wheatcroft.
The type 41 is said to have come about because Ettore exception to the comments of an English lady who compared her unfavorably with those cars Rolls-Royce The prototype was a close 15-liter monster In production, it was reduced 12 8 liters - each cylinder moves more of a Metro engine - with an outlet according to 275bhp.
This aesthetically beautiful tree overhead cam engine, a 770lb sculpture turned aluminum, proved to be one of the greatest successes of Ettore To use the remaining 23 engines after the final Royal was built, Bugatti built a car path iron powered by two or four units with eight cylinders.
Seventy-nine were built for the French national railway, using a 186 other engines and remained in service until the sixties we took an average speed world record of 43 for 9 122 mph miles.
The first buyer of Royal was a French designer named Armand Esders, which took delivery in 1932, the eldest son of Ettore, Jean, shaped to the car two dramatic open spaces bodies with flaming wings, full-bodied and a seat Dickey, but not Esders projectors plan didn t drive the car at night, it seemed.
Later, this car was rebodied Cup in style City by the bodybuilder Henri Binder and briefly found its way to Britain after the war before taking permanent residence in the Harrah Collection.
Another car was sold to Dr. Joseph Fuchs, who said Munich Weinberger to build him a large open convertible via a career in the Far East, this car has found its way into a junkyard in New York, where it was discovered by Charles Chayne General Motors is now in the Ford museum in Detroit.
The car of the final customer was handed to Captain Cuthbert Foster, English bird Custard tycoon He had a rather boring limousine body made for the car by Park Ward, created in the style of a Rolls-Royce, he already belonged .
When Foster living in the United States after the war, the car was purchased by the dealer Bugatti Burton Jack Lemon and eventually found its way into the Schlumpf collection next to the cup sit Napoleon the Schlumpf brothers had acquired Bugatti succession.
The last two cars, travel and car sedan Kellner - who had been displayed but are not sold at the Olympia in 1932 - stayed with the Bugatti family until Mr. Cunningham instead.
The originality of the Kellner-body car is a telling comment on the amount of use it has actually seen in the last 70 years, the original brown color Even the windshield turns with age Simon tried Kidstone estimated mileage of about 15,000.
There is nothing flamboyant in particular on the body Kellner, but massive, high and narrow size of the wheels, the letterbox windows make it look squat and useful, perfectly highlighted by his enormous Scintilla headlights and wing online elegant scan.
It is therefore perfectly proportioned that the size of the car becomes really obvious when you stand next to him, face to face with its mascot of rampant elephant hat - rather a sickly-looking animal of an elephant - designed by Ettore's brother Rembrandt.
Swing back the great, the hinged rear door, climb and slide on the large, the driver's seat in brown leather, showing some holes Apart from the poster - which Cunningham had redone at some point during his 37 years of ownership - the interior is original and almost austere, not golden, you might expect royal boudoir two armrests fold down the rear seats, which easily has the sufficient width to take three passengers.
It lacks a speedometer, tachometer and even a fuel gauge, but there are some minor instruments grouped in the center of the base dashboard looking like all French luxury cars before the Second World War, the Royal is right-hand drive.
What's more, its control layout is quite familiar with an area, rather than a right hand, the change, which would have been considered a bit of a Americanism when the lever speed is topped by a large ivory knob and operates three speeds in a crash gearbox.
The steering wheel, with four horn buttons on the back of the wooden rim, is huge and you feel as though you are looking through as much as what you scroll down a cap that ends somewhere in the average distance.
Ignition, contact the engine shudders to life, it is not remote, silk plant with a Rolls-Royce or a Cadillac, but an emergency device with a bit picky, so high purr Clutch is relatively light and has a progressive action smooth, so that the car is slipping away with the majestic decorum.
What's curious about the Royal is that this is not the kind of big old car prewar simply plop you into high gear almost immediately and just plod away on speed engine torque walking, as you would in a contemporary Rolls-Royce and struggles to the engine, rattling the entire body and the heating of the clutch.
Better to take up to 15 or 20 mph in first, and facilitate the shift lever in the second any good use to be 60 mph, pushing the button down to neutral, then until Sá action heavy which is probably the least enjoyable thing about driving the car.
Much nicer is the direction, which is neither heavy nor cumbersome He has a gentle action, specify who made the Royal feel like a kind of giant sports car, although I am a little more aware of my short car test suburbs - with childminders running desperately to side as I accelerated the street - huge turning circle and the fact that management doesn t really self-center vigorously.
At low speeds, the ride feels rock hard and tense like a sports car Bugatti clearly wanted his flagship should have the sensation tendon of its smaller models, rather than being just another luxury barge Cables draw brakes mechanically, but the big drums stop the car well and in short order.
Dodging Toyotas in this obscure suburb of Tokyo, I can not say I'm an idea of the ways to speed the Royal, but I had an idea it would be wonderful to drive the car on the long, straight, lined trees Napoleonic roads of France, the environment, he was born in.
Royal calls for highways and lavish destinations really have meaning here, it could enter his massive stride winding over 100 mph and heading to a sun-kissed southern resort Large wheels and sheer bulk of the car would be simply crush bumps, nearly 13 liters of envy that floats 7,000lb of arrogant decadence spent less fatal in their Citroens and Peugeots plodding.
It would be great to see this car on rallies and make visits, just be enjoyed by its new owner Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that the poor old Royal as its museum-related sisters who don t part of running again, seems likely to resume a stationary existence, a prisoner of its own value What a shame.
I know that at the time I publish this, the title of the most expensive car in the world has been taken by another Bugatti Williamson Atlantic will probably remain the most expensive, until one s of Royal will be sold again.
The Bugatti review The most expensive car in the world, Bugatti, the most expensive.