The car behind the 2017 headline “World’s most beautiful car up for sale” is no longer up for sale: RM Sotheby’s sold a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS ‘Goutte d’Eau’ coupe for €3,360,000 at Villa Erba on May 27, 2017. The headline’s superlative is a matter of taste, but the car’s sculptural Figoni et Falaschi coachwork and concours recognition explain its enduring reputation.
Which car did the headline mean?
It referred to a short-wheelbase, sports-racing Talbot-Lago T150-C SS coupe with coachwork by Figoni et Falaschi. ‘Goutte d’Eau’ means “drop of water” in French, a name commonly rendered in English as “teardrop” for the body’s flowing, tapering form. New Atlas described the styling as Art Deco and reported that 14 examples of the design remained extant in 2017; that is a dated count, not a current census. New Atlas, May 24, 2017
What happened at auction?
The specific Villa Erba car was chassis 90110. RM Sotheby’s listed it with Swiss registration papers and described it as one of two examples with fully enclosed front fenders. The auction house characterized it as an authentic car retaining its original chassis, engine and drivetrain, restored to the teardrop design first fitted to this chassis. Those originality and restoration details are the auction house’s catalog claims. RM Sotheby’s lot record
New Atlas reported an estimate of €3.2 million to €3.8 million. RM Sotheby’s official results record the car as sold for €3,360,000 at its Villa Erba sale on May 27, 2017. The result is a historical transaction, not a current asking price or a present-day valuation. Lot record · Villa Erba results · Sale result
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The available auction records and reporting establish that the car sold, but do not establish its current owner, location or availability.
Why is it called one of the most beautiful cars?
There is no universal, objective title of “world’s most beautiful car.” The phrase expresses an aesthetic judgment. New Atlas noted the model’s recurring place in lists of beautiful cars, while RM Sotheby’s catalog called its form an iconic reference for beauty. That is the auction house’s promotional description, not a measurable ranking. New Atlas · RM Sotheby’s catalog
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The case for its reputation is visible in the design: long, continuous curves make the body seem to flow from nose to tail, while the enclosed front fenders give the car an unusually unified profile. The result joins the work of a coachbuilder to the proportions and purpose of a sports car rather than treating bodywork as mere decoration.
New Atlas also reported that the Talbot-Lago received the 2016 Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award. That accolade helps explain why the car attracted attention beyond the auction room, but it does not turn an aesthetic opinion into an objective verdict. New Atlas, May 24, 2017
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What are its performance and racing credentials?
New Atlas gave the T150-C SS’s inline-six engine displacement as 3,996 cc and output as 140 bhp. It also reported that a showroom-stock example placed third overall at the 1938 24 Hours of Le Mans, and that the model later won its class at Spa in 1948. These are model-level figures and historical context from the 2017 article; they should not be taken as proof that chassis 90110 achieved either competition result. New Atlas, May 24, 2017
The combination of road-car performance, competition associations and individually crafted coachwork is central to the T150-C SS’s significance. The racing history adds context to the model, while the visual identity belongs to Figoni et Falaschi’s body design.
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Is this Talbot-Lago still for sale?
No current listing or availability is established by the cited records. Chassis 90110 was sold at the 2017 Villa Erba auction for €3,360,000; neither that completed sale nor its price says where the car is now or what it might be worth today.
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