Blackhawk Collection confirms Bugatti Royale sale.

The Blackhawk Collection has sold a Bugatti Royale, famously known as the "Berline de Voyage," which was hidden from the Nazis during World War II, to a European collector.

The deal was reported on Facebook by former collector car auctioneer Rick Cole after the car arrived in Europe from a museum collection in northern California. Don Williams of Blackhawk said that Cole was "a teammate" in the sale.

The price paid for the car was not shared, but Cole indicated that it was certainly the highest price ever paid for a prewar automobile, which was once owned by actor Clark Gable at a Gooding & Company auction in Pebble Beach in 2018 The $22 million spent on a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ roadster once owned by actor Clark Gable at the 2018 Gooding & Co. auction in Pebble Beach.

Ettore Bugatti planned 25 of the largest cars, which he named Royale, with the intention of selling them to kings and princes. However, the Great Depression limited sales, and only seven were built, of which Bugatti sold only three; one was destroyed in an accident, and the other was sold to the King of France, who was then in the process of building his own car.

Chassis 41150 was the sixth of the seven Royales built. It was approximately 21 feet long and weighed approximately 7,000 pounds. Like the other cars, it is powered by a huge 12.8-liter straight-8 engine.

The Berline de Voyage was one of the cars that did not sell initially and was kept by Bugatti and hidden behind the brick wall of the Bugatti mansion in Hermenonville, France, along with the 41100 "Coupe Napoleon" to prevent it from being commandeered by the Nazis during World War II

After the war, both cars were purchased by American sportsman and racer Briggs Cunningham from Bugatti's daughter Rebe. Because the French franc was so devalued after the war, Cunningham bought the cars for about $600 each, but he also bought a pair of brand new refrigerators from General Electric, since such comforts were not available in postwar France.

Cunningham spent thousands of dollars restoring the car in France and finally brought it to the U.S. in early 1951; a year later, he sold 41150 to Cameron Peck, an early automobile collector, and the car later became part of the famous Bill Haller Collection in Reno, Nevada It later became part of the famous Bill Haller Collection in Reno, Nevada.

When the Haller Collection was auctioned in 1986, Royall was purchased by Texas real estate developer Jerry Moore for $6.5 million, the highest price ever paid at the time. moore, who had a collection of over 20 Duesenbergs, kept the car for over a year. After storing it for over a year, he sold it to Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monahan for over $8 million

.

Don Williams and business partner Richie Klein, who together own the car collection on display at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Las Vegas, purchased the car from Monahan in the early 1990s.

Williams noted that people may consider themselves owners of cherished collector cars, but in reality they are only temporary caretakers.

"There are times in our lives when we take care of our favorite cars and have fun with them," he told ClassicCars about the sale of his famous Bugatti." We are all just caretakers."

But, he added, " The legacy of the car is the good friends we made in the process."

Written by Larry Edsall, this article originally appeared on ClassicCars.com, an editorial partner of Motor Authority.