Cars can be expensive, but if you think no one is willing to spend millions of dollars for a single vehicle, think again. The ultra-rich have a lot of money at their disposal, and if they want a car that shows off that wealth to the world, there is a lot to accommodate them. While some people think of Aston Martin or Rolls Royce as the most expensive vehicle on the road today, there are others that cost even more.
As of this writing, the most expensive luxury car in the world is the Bugatti La Voiture Noire, which sells for a whopping $18.68 million. Bugatti came upon the scene in 2019, so it’s a newbie when it comes to luxury vehicles, yet it has all of the bells and whistles that a car with this kind of price tag should have. Let’s take a closer look.
The History of the Bugatti La Voiture Noire
The La Voiture Noire, translated to mean The Black Car, is manufactured by Bugatti Engineering GmbH in Germany, and it is an offshoot of their vehicle the Chiron. The car was introduced at the Geneva Auto Show in 2019 and was designed by Etienne Salome, a designer at Bugatti. It has an elongated nose and an elongated rear section, and the body of the vehicle is made out of carbon fiber and is hand-built.
A lot of the features that come with the car are taken from the Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic, which was developed in 1934 and is still considered one of the most valuable vehicles in the world. The Atlantic had an art-deco style and the company only made four of them. Three of these vehicles are accounted for, but the fourth car was lost during World War II. Experts speculate that if the car were to be found, it would be worth roughly $100 million today. The Atlantic is still one of the most coveted luxury cars in the world.
What Makes La Voiture Noire So Special?
The Black Car has a mid-engine layout and unique features such as wing mirrors and an LED taillight strip. There is a trim on the vehicle that runs from the front of the car to the rear spoiler, looking much like the dorsal fin that was included in the company’s Type 57 SC. It also comes with a floating windshield and masked A-pillars. When it comes to the engine of La Voiture Noire, it has the same one as the Chiron – an 8.0-liter quad-turbocharged W16 engine, but the company heavily revised the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and the all-wheel-drive system.
Other features of the La Voiture Noire include softer dampers and a revised chassis, as well as six exhaust pipes that are reminiscent of designs from years ago. If you’re wondering about its speed and power, consider this: The Black Car has an engine with 1,500 horsepower and 1,180 pound-feet of torque. What this means in practical terms is that the car can go from 0 to 60 MPH in 2.5 seconds, which is quite a feat. Thanks to this type of engine, the car also has a top speed of 261 MPH.
The car has radical new wheels, a fascia that is bespoke and very aggressive, and a huge light-up badge in the back that spells out the name of the brand. When you look at the vehicle from any angle, it practically screams “luxury,” with its super-sleek design, gorgeous black color, and features that you’ve likely never seen in any other vehicle. It combines luxury, elegance, and dynamics so that you get a car that makes driving not a necessity, but something you look forward to every day of the year.
Some More Interesting Details
So far, only one car of this type has been manufactured, and it sold for more than $12 million. But the vehicle now has an asking price of more than $18 million, which people will surely be willing to pay. It was built to celebrate Bugatti’s 110-year anniversary and was made specifically for a Bugatti enthusiast who claimed to be fascinated with the Atlantic and wanted something similar. While the car is almost an exact replica under the hood as the Chiron, on the outside it is different in many ways.
The La Voiture Noire was worked on for years so that every inch of it was perfect. The designers claimed they worked on the vehicle until absolutely nothing else could be improved upon, both inside and outside of the vehicle. It is a two-seater, two-door coupe with curved lines, a solid sculpture, and an aerodynamic design that makes driving it nothing short of amazing. The car is slim and sleek in part because its signature lines on the side are rounder and gentler than the ones on the Chiron.
In addition to going from 0 to 60 MPH in just 2.5 seconds, the car can do 0 to 124 MPH in 6.5 seconds and 0 to 186 MPH in 13.6 seconds. It weighs about 3,000 pounds and it has massive rotors that measure 16.5 inches in the front and 15.7 inches outback. The brakes on the vehicle are eight-piston front and six-piston rear, and each piston has been given a unique size so that the swept area is maximized. In addition, thanks to a few aerodynamically designed parts, the front rotor heat shields actually create a turbine effect, which means you get increased downforce when you get to cruising speeds.
The Bugatti La Voiture Noire is certainly a vehicle that will get a lot of attention, in part because it offers top-of-the-line quality, a beautiful design that drivers will love showing off, and a price tag they can brag about as well.
Other Expensive Luxury Vehicles
As you can imagine, there are numerous other vehicles that are nearly as expensive as the Bugatti La Voiture Noire. Here are some of the details on those:
- Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta: $17.6 million
- Bugatti Centodieci: $9 million
- Maybach Exelero: $8 million
- Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+: $3.9 million
- Gordon Murray T.50: $3.08 million
One more note: if you can get your hands on a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, be prepared to pay about $70 million for it!
