Still, the leftover engines were re-used successfully in newly constructed high-speed railcars for the French National Railway (SNCF).

The Type 41 is said to have come about because Alsatian autobuilder Ettore Bugatti took exception to the comments of an English lady who compared his cars unfavourably with those of Rolls-Royce.

The clutch and gearbox were placed at odd locations [citation needed] to reduce noise and increase comfort, a difficult problem in those days.

[5] The car's light alloy "Roue Royale" wheels measured 610 millimetres (24 in) in diameter and were cast in one piece with the brake drums.

[11] Reflecting some tradition-based fashions of the time, the driver was confronted by a series of knobs of whalebone, while the steering wheel was covered with walnut.

Intended for royalty, none was eventually sold to any royals, and Bugatti even refused to sell one to King Zog of Albania, claiming that "the man's table manners are beyond belief!

The car was then sold at the 1986 Harrah auction where Houston, Texas real estate developer Jerry J. Moore paid $6.5 million for it.

Media related to Bugatti railcar at Wikimedia Commons In light of the rarity of the Type 41 and its associated price, it is unsurprising that some replicas have been made.

[17] The late Tom Wheatcroft commissioned Ashton Keynes Vintage Restorations (AKVR) to build an exact replica of Bugatti's personal car, the Coupe Napoleon (chassis number 41100), for his Donington Grand Prix Collection in England.

It claims to use the original prototype chassis frame and other parts and was initially fitted with a replica engine (built by Tom Wheatcroft).

[15] In 2016, the same team that reconstructed the Packard prototype, led by Frank Slopsma, unveiled a new replica of the Royale Esders Roadster at the RETRO CLASSICS show in Stuttgart, Germany.

[24] A year later this same team showed a part-finished replica of the Weymann coach version of the 41100 Royale prototype at the Mondorf Classic Days & Concours d'Elegance.

A blood-red Bugatti type 41 Royale Coupe de Ville appears in Leslie Charteris' Vendetta For the Saint (Doubleday 1964, ghostwritten by Harry Harrison) as a rental car for Simon Templar.