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Why the Bugatti Royale was the first car granted diplomatic immunity

Bugatti's cars have participated in the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance since the inaugural event was held in 1950. The judges have given the prestigious Best of Show award to a Bugatti nine times, but the firm notes one of the most memorable moments at the concours was displaying the six examples of the Royale on the lawn in 1985. Getting six vehicles together doesn't sound awfully difficult, yet organizing the Royale display was actually a massive undertaking that involved international law and charter flights. Bugatti only built six units of the Royale, a 252-inch-long ultra-luxurious car powered by a 12.8-liter straight-eight engine, between 1926 and 1933. While all of them survived, which is astonishing considering what many went through, they were scattered on both sides of the pond. One of the biggest hurdles was that two of the Royales were located in the fascinating Cite de l'Automobile museum in Mulhouse, France, and they were part of the batch seized from the Schlumpf brothers by the French government. "The museum was worried that if the cars left French soil, the Schlumpf brothers might attempt a legal move to seize the cars back," explained Chris Bock, who played an instrumental role in organizing the display. Bock and his colleagues convinced American government officials to grant the two cars diplomatic immunity. This was the first time a car had benefited from this status. However, at the time, cargo flights from France to the United States stopped in Canada to refuel, and the immunity wasn't valid on Canadian soil, so Air France operated a direct flight from Paris to Los Angeles to get the Royales to the Pacific coast. And then, one flight became two. Still worried about retaliation from the Schlumpf brothers, the museum insisted that each car be transported separately. Sending the four others to Monterey was simple. Two were in the William F. Harrah collection in Reno, Nevada, and one was in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. The sixth arrived in an even more laid-back manner. "Then, a guy arrived with the sixth Royale, which belonged to (American race car driver) Briggs Cunningham. He'd towed it on an open trailer with a Ford F-250 pickup truck. He said: 'oh, it'll be fine, we'll just throw a tarp over it,' while everyone else was running around hyperventilating," remembered Bock. Arranging the display wasn't easy, but it paid off.

Bugatti to reveal final Legend editions in Beijing, Pebble Beach August

While it wouldn't be fair to say it stumbled upon it, having invested unprecedented amounts to develop the Veyron in the first place, Bugatti has certainly arrived at a winning formula with its special editions. Take on the world's most expensive and desirable supercars, give it a special paintjob and name, and presto! You've got a multi-million-dollar prospect on your hands of which collectors just can't seem to get enough.
If that was the case with previous special-edition and one-off versions of the Veyron - and there have been many - it certainly applies to the company's "Les Legendes de Bugatti" line. The series pays homage to six legendary figures from the marque's history, each honored with a run of three special versions of the Vitesse roadster done up in their name with a unique color scheme inside and out. It started with the Jean-Pierre Wimille edition at Pebble Beach in August and continued with the Jean Bugatti edition in Frankfurt, the Meo Costantini edition in Dubai and the Rembrandt edition (pictured above) at the Geneva Motor Show last week. That leaves two more to go, and now we now what to expect - or rather, when to expect it.
In correspondence with Autoblog, Bugatti confirmed that it will reveal the fifth model at the Beijing Motor Show next month, and the sixth and final version at Pebble Beach in August. But just what will they be? All signs seem to be pointing toward pioneered female racer Elisabeth Junek for one of them - likely the next - but if we had to guess, we'd suspect that the final version will honor Ettore Bugatti himself. We'll just have to wait to find out for sure, but whoever Bugatti names them after, you can bet they'll all sell out rather quickly.

UPDATE: Porsche could raise its stake in Rimac, and Rimac weighs in

CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this Reuters story said Porsche could raise its stake in Rimac to nearly 50%, but Rimac reached out to Autoblog to say that's not so. Here is a statement from Mate Rimac: "We have a very strong partnership with Porsche that is key for Rimac Automobili. Porsche is a shareholder in Rimac since 2018 with 15.5% ownership currently, accumulated over several rounds of investment. While it is true that we are discussing further expansion of this collaboration that will lead to increase of Porsche's stake in Rimac Automobili, some media have mistakenly reported that Porsche would take over 50% or nearly 50% of the company.   We are very happy that the partnership with Porsche will strengthen even further, but it is in the interest of both Rimac and Porsche that Rimac is a fully independent company. We are working with many car companies that are not our shareholders and there is a clear separation between shareholding and projects. It is very important to us that our industry customers have the peace of mind that Rimac is independent and that there is an "Information Firewall" between projects and shareholders (not only Porsche, but also Hyundai and others) - and this will not change. Confidentiality is very valued in the industry and one of the basics for collaboration between companies. Our shareholders are happy with such an arrangement and expect the same level of professional behaviour and confidentiality for their projects and customer projects.   So, the point is: Porsche's stake will increase but nowhere near to 50% and Rimac will remain independent with many industry customers that are not our shareholders/investors." The original story, with the 50% reference removed, appears below.   FRANKFURT — Volkswagen unit Porsche is participating in a financing round of Rimac Automobili that will see the electric supercar maker raise 130 million-150 million euros ($157 million-$181 million), its owner Mate Rimac told weekly Automobilwoche. The fundraising should be completed in two to three months and another round is planned at the end of the year, Rimac told the trade journal. Porsche owns a 15.5% stake in Rimac Automobili and could raise its stake in a deal that would also include the transfer of Volkswagen's supercar brand Bugatti to Rimac, Automobilwoche said. Volkswagen and Rimac were not immediately available for comment on Sunday.