A Royal Return: a Seventh Bugatti Royale Appears
In 1927, Bugatti announced they would create the largest, most luxurious and most powerful car ever. Dubbed the Royale, it was created to ferry around the monarchies of the era. Everything on this Bugatti was huge: it weighed 3175 kg, had a length of 6.4 metres and was powered by a 12.7-litre, inline-eight engine that developped nearly 300 horsepower.
To give you an idea of how advanced this thing was, a Model T of the same era had about 20 horsepower... And if you are not convinced of its size, here is a modern comparison: a short-wheelbase, 2016 Ford F-250 is about 15 centimetres SHORTER in overall length.
Bugatti planned to build 25 Royales. Sadly, the Great Depression hit shortly after the production's start in 1929. The French manufacturer only managed to build six Royales... and they couldn't sell more than three of them.
Today, four of the massive Bugattis are in a museum, one belongs to Bugatti and the sixth is in a private collector's vault.
However, a seventh Royale was just revived: it's the first prototype, built by Ettore Bugatti himself in 1926. It was believed lost when M. Bugatti fell asleep at the wheel and drove off the road, a glowing endorsment of his car's comfort!
After a restauration that took the better part of 15 years, the car is now displayed at the Musée National de l’Automobile de Mulhouse.
If one of those cars would ever be sold, collectors believe that it may be the first vehicle to ever reach a price in the seven figures.
