Bugatti redefines hyper-luxury with 'La Voitre Noire,' the most expensive car ever

GENEVA, Switzerland — A name goes a long way toward creating mystic, romance and sublime luxury. And as an American, frankly, anything French sounds sexy and exotic.

But when you translate the name of Bugatti’s one-off super car, “La Voitre Noire,” it means quite simply: the black car.

An interesting name, indeed, for the most expensive car ever created.

This supercar has already been sold for 11 million Euro pre-tax – or about $12.5 million. But after luxury taxes you’re looking at 16.7 million Euro or $18.9 million.

Bugatti intends La Voitre Noire to be more than just a modern interpretation of the Type 57 SC Atlantic.

“Every single component has been handcrafted and the carbon fiber body has a deep black gloss only interrupted by the ultrafine fiber structure,” said Bugatti designer Etienne Salomé in a press release. “We worked long and hard on this design until was nothing that we could improve. For us, the coupé represents the perfect form with a perfect finish.”

La Voitre Noire is equipped with an 8.0-liter 16-cylinder engine that delivers about 1,480 horsepower and 1,180 pound-feet of torque and has a total of six tailpipes.

Fuel economy in combined driving will be about 12.5 mpg.

No information has been released about who bought the car, and in which country we might possibly see it on the streets.

The Bottom Line:

Pictures do not do La Voitre Noire justice.

From the headlights to the circular air vents on the hood to the utterly spectacular details on the taillights, we couldn’t get enough of this car. Every time we passed it – and we made a point of gawking at it at least four times during the two-day media preview – we saw something different. It was simple, elegant and utterly stunning.

It’s certainly a work of art, but it’s also driver’s car.

We hope that the lucky duck who bought this single-production vehicle enjoys driving and actually, well, drives it.