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Monaco has hosted more great cars than almost anywhere on Earth, but it has built precious few of its own. One of the most important is heading to auction next month: this 1990 Monte Carlo Automotive Centenaire, the very first example produced and the first road-going production car ever fitted with a carbon fiber monocoque chassis. It will cross the block as Lot 156 at Broad Arrow Auctions' Zoute Concours Auction on Friday, October 9, 2026, carrying a pre-sale estimate of €900,000 to €1,200,000.
If the name doesn't ring a bell, that's part of the appeal. The Centenaire is one of the great "if you know, you know" supercars of the era, and this particular car is the one that started it all.
Monaco's First Supercar, Built by a Dream Team
Monte Carlo Automotive (MCA) was founded in 1985 by former Formula 2 and CART driver Fulvio-Maria Ballabio, who pulled together a remarkable roster of Italian motorsport talent. Leading the technical side was the legendary Carlo Chiti, the engineer whose résumé includes work on the Ferrari 156 "Sharknose" that won Ferrari its first constructors' title in 1961, the founding of Alfa Romeo's Autodelta competition department, and the V8 for the gorgeous Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale. The Centenaire would be Chiti's final project before his passing in 1994.
Joining him were former Alfa Romeo Sporting Director Pier Luigi Corbari, AGS Formula 1 specialist Marcel Zunnino, and carbon composite pioneer Guglielmo Bellasi, a former F1 driver and constructor. In 1990, Ballabio sealed a deal with Lamborghini to supply its V12, giving the little Monegasque company serious firepower.
Unveiled in May 1990, the Centenaire beat the Jaguar XJR-15 (announced that November) and the far more famous McLaren F1 to the title of the world's first road-going supercar with a carbon-composite chassis. Its name marked the 100th anniversary of the Automobile Club de Monaco, and the car was presented to Prince Albert II, whose support helped make it the Principality's homegrown supercar. Even Phil Hill came to see it, later writing in Road & Track that the car still commanded a crowd in blasé Monaco.
Chassis 001: Where It All Began
Only three original Centenaires were built between 1990 and 1992 with the Lamborghini V12, and this car is the first of them. According to an accompanying letter from MCA representative Matteo Ramello, it was originally chassis number 001 and served as the company's development, testing, and presentation car. Afterward it was redesignated EL0002 and spent roughly a decade inside Lamborghini's factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese before being gifted back to Ballabio in the early 2000s.
It was also the only Centenaire originally finished in Ivory White, paired with a red leather interior to echo the national colors of Monaco. That's about as fitting a spec as a Monegasque supercar could wear.
Power comes from the 5.2-liter V12 out of the Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV, rated at 455 PS and paired with a ZF six-speed manual transmission. For a sense of what that engine means to collectors today, see this $700,000-restored carbureted 1985 Countach we covered ahead of Monterey. Two Centenaires were also developed for trials at the 1993 24 Hours of Le Mans, where they reportedly hit 354 km/h (about 220 mph) on the Mulsanne Straight.
Rétromobile Star, Restored to Its Original Colors
Around 2007 the car was refinished in blue and displayed at Rétromobile alongside the one-off Lamborghini Pregunta concept, which Broad Arrow sold at its inaugural Zoute Concours Auction in 2025 on behalf of the very same seller. The current owner acquired the Centenaire in France in 2014, and about two years later its bodywork was restored by Établissements Lecoq and returned to the correct Ivory White. The original red leather upholstery was carefully preserved.
Today the odometer shows just 1,560 kilometers at cataloging. Broad Arrow notes the car likely covered additional distance during its development days before the odometer was reset ahead of its first private sale.
A History File to Match
The documentation is a highlight of the lot. The car comes with MCA correspondence and press materials, period photos of the car inside the Lamborghini factory and at Rétromobile, and even a copy of the engine supply contract between Automobili Lamborghini and Fulvio Ballabio. It's the kind of paper trail that tells the car's story as well as the car itself does.
Why It Matters
Collectors love firsts, and this Centenaire stacks them up: the first MCA ever built, the first supercar from Monaco, and the first road car with a carbon fiber monocoque. Add in a Countach V12, a six-speed manual, Carlo Chiti's final engineering credit, and a documented Lamborghini factory history, and it's easy to see why Broad Arrow considers it eligible for top-tier concours from Villa d'Este to Pebble Beach.
It joins an already strong Zoute catalog that includes the hypercar Holy Trinity and a spoiler-free 1976 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale. Still, few lots in Belgium this October will carry a backstory quite like this one. As Phil Hill observed more than three decades ago, even in Monaco, a car this exotic is impossible to ignore.
For full details and the complete photo gallery, visit the Broad Arrow Auctions listing.
