Bugatti unveils the world's most expensive new car

Car manufacturer Bugatti has built a one-off sports car from carbon fibre, which has already been sold to an anonymous enthusiast for a price of €11 million (NZ$18.7m).

Unveiled at this year's Geneva Motor Show, La Voiture Noire – French for "the black car" – was sold to an unnamed Bugatti enthusiast for an eight-figure sum.

While the final price hasn't been confirmed, Bugatti disclosed that the car was bought for €11 million before tax – estimated at €16.7 million (NZ$27.6m) including tax – making it "the most expensive new car of all time".

"We are paying tribute to a long tradition, to France and to the creative work of Jean Bugatti," said Stephan Winkelmann, president of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S, in a press release. "At the same time, we are transferring extraordinary technology, aesthetics and extreme luxury to a new age."

The aerodynamic sports car, which is the only one of its kind built, boasts a 1,149 horsepower and a quad-turbocharged 16-cylinder engine with six tailpipes.

It is not yet known what the top speed is for the car, but its design is based on the Bugatti Chiron supercar, which has a top speed of 420kph.

"Every single component has been handcrafted and the carbon fibre body has a deep black gloss only interrupted by the ultrafine fibre structure. This is a material that has been handled perfectly," says 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."

Until now, the Rolls Royce Sweptail, a $13m one-off coupe that a customer commissioned from the ground up, was thought to be the most expensive new car ever built.

The most expensive car ever sold is thought to be the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO that won the Tour de France in 1964.