An ultra-rare supercar you've never heard of is set to bring in $1.35M at auction and this is why

There are supercars that everybody knows, and then there are cars so ultra-rare that even serious fans might have to Google, and this auction has maybe the wildest one ever.

This car definitely falls into the second category, despite having a Lamborghini V12, a seriously wild backstory and just four siblings.

Now, the very first example ever made is heading to auction, where it could sell for as much as $1.35 million.

Once you find out what makes this forgotten supercar so special, that price starts to make a lot more sense.

Monaco decided it needed its own supercar

The MCA Centenaire is basically what happens when Monaco decides it wants a supercar of its own.

The car was created by Monte Carlo Automotive, a tiny company founded by former racing driver Fulvio-Maria Ballabio, and it was unveiled in 1990 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Automobile Club de Monaco.

So yes, this is essentially Monaco’s birthday present to itself, and it wasn’t exactly a modest one.

The Centenaire looked like it had arrived straight from the future, with a low body, dramatic doors, and a huge V12 sitting behind the driver.

Only five were ever made between 1990 and 1992, which is probably why you don’t see one parked outside your local coffee shop.

The car also had some very serious racing DNA behind it, with Ballabio bringing in a team of experienced Italian engineers and designers to help create the machine.

But perhaps the biggest flex was where the engine came from.

Lamborghini gave it a Countach V12

Underneath all that futuristic bodywork was a 5.2-liter Lamborghini V12 based on the engine used in the legendary Countach 5000 QV, which means this obscure Monaco supercar has a genuine Lamborghini heart.

And it wasn’t exactly shy about showing it off.

The engine produces around 455 horsepower and is connected to a six-speed manual gearbox, making this a very old-school kind of supercar.

There was also a secret hiding underneath the car which is the Centenaire used a carbon fiber chassis at a time when the material was still incredibly unusual for road cars, putting it years ahead of most of the supercar world.

But you probably don’t need to know all of the engineering details to appreciate the important bit: this thing was seriously exotic.

Two examples were even developed with Le Mans in mind, with the cars reportedly reaching around 220 mph during testing.

Now the first one could become a $1.35M collector’s item

The Centenaire heading to auction is chassis EL0002, which is the first production version ever.

It was originally painted Ivory White with a red interior, giving it a suitably Monaco-inspired look, and Lamborghini itself kept the car for around a decade before it eventually made its way back to Ballabio.

It has since appeared at major events including Rétromobile in Paris and has been restored to its original colors.

Perhaps even more impressive is the mileage, because the car has covered just 1,560 kilometers, or around 970 miles, in its entire life.

Broad Arrow Auctions is now offering it at the Zoute Concours Auction in Belgium on October 9, 2026, with an estimate of €900,000 to €1.2 million, but the top estimate works out at roughly $1.35 million.

That’s a lot of money for a car most people have never heard of.

But for a Monaco-born, Lamborghini-powered supercar with only four others like it in existence, it might just be the ultimate case of the automotive world hiding one of its coolest secrets in plain sight.