One of the most unusual and historically significant early Bugatti-related vehicles ever assembled, the 1924 Bugatti-Diatto Avio 8C, is poised to turn heads and open wallets when it crosses the auction block at the Bonhams|Cars Quail Auction on August 15. With a pre-sale estimate between $700,000 and $1.3 million, the vehicle is being offered without reserve.

While its massive 14-liter, eight-cylinder engine might initially command attention, the true allure of this machine lies in its enigmatic backstory. Developed from an early 20th-century collaboration between Ettore Bugatti and Italian manufacturer Pietro Diatto, the Avio 8C engine was conceived with dual intentions: to power both aircraft and automobiles during a time when the boundaries of mechanical innovation were still being defined.

The sole surviving example of the Avio 8C engine found its way—without any known documentation—to a Turin museum decades ago, mated to a Diatto chassis. The project’s resurrection owes much to Bugatti historian Uwe Hucke and collector Claude Teisen-Simony, whose deep research led to the car’s eventual completion in 2019. The result is a singular vehicle that bridges aviation and automotive history.
“This isn’t just a car,” said Ian Gabriele, specialist at Bonhams|Cars. “It’s an auditory and visual experience—raw, mechanical, and deeply expressive of an era long gone.”

Chain-driven and weighing little more than a modern compact car, the Avio 8C evokes Bugatti’s Type 13 racing dominance and prefigures the legendary Type 41 Royale. It debuted to acclaim at Rétromobile in Paris and is expected to draw global attention at Monterey’s Quail Lodge during Car Week.
For collectors and historians alike, the auction represents a rare opportunity to own a foundational piece of Bugatti’s origin story—one that’s as mysterious as it is magnificent.