 Ettore Bugatti was famous of making the best sports cars in the world, however, he also created the most spectacular luxurious car in history, Type 41 Royale. From the name Royale, you can see its target customers were the richest royal families in the world, for example, King Alphonso XIII of Spain. Unquestionably, it was the "Grandest" car ever made, even more so than Bentley 8-Litre. It measured 6.4 meters long and 4.3 meters between axles, weighed in excess of 3 tons and powered by a 13-litre straight-8 engine which was derived from aero engine and eventually converted for train use ! Like Bentley 8-Litre, the Royale was born at the wrong time. In 1930 the world got into deep recession after Wall Street collapsed. These ultra-luxurious saloons became white elephants. Only 6 Royales were made between 1929 and 33. One of which was used as Ettore Bugatti's personal car. However, also because of its rarity, in 1987 a Royale broke the world record by changing hands at US$9.8 million, which was only eclipsed by Ferrari 250GTO later. |