One of the rarest supercars of the early 1990s is heading to auction, with the first MCA Centenaire ever built expected to fetch between €900,000 and €1.2 million at Broad Arrow’s Zoute Concours Auction in Belgium.
The 1990 Monte Carlo Automotive Centenaire is one of just five examples produced and is claimed to be the first road-going production car fitted with a carbon fibre chassis.
Broad Arrow Auctions will offer the car at Approach Golf in Knokke-Heist on 9 October, as part of the Zoute Grand Prix Car Week.
Monaco’s homegrown supercar
Monte Carlo Automotive was founded in 1985 by former Formula 2 and CART driver Fulvio-Maria Ballabio, who assembled a team with considerable Italian motorsport experience to develop the company’s first supercar.
Technical director Carlo Chiti had links with Ferrari and Autodelta, while the project also involved former Alfa Romeo sporting director Pierluigi Corbari, Formula 1 specialist Marcel Zunnino and former F1 driver and constructor Guglielmo Bellasi.
The Centenaire was unveiled in 1990, coinciding with the centenary of the Automobile Club de Monaco. It was presented to Prince Albert II and became the first supercar to be built in Monaco.
Just five examples were produced between 1990 and 1992.
Two cars were subsequently developed for 24 Hours of Le Mans trials and are reported to have reached 354km/h – around 220mph – on the Mulsanne Straight.
Lamborghini V12 power
The car being offered by Broad Arrow is the first Centenaire produced and was initially used for development, testing and presentation duties.
It is one of the original three cars powered by Lamborghini’s 5.2-litre V12 from the Countach 5000 QV. Producing 455hp, the engine is paired with a ZF six-speed manual transmission.
This particular Centenaire was also the only example originally finished in Ivory White with a red leather interior, a colour combination chosen to represent Monaco’s national colours.
An accompanying letter from MCA representative Matteo Ramello confirms the car’s early history and identifies it as the original chassis.
After completing its development and presentation duties, the car was redesignated EL0002 and stored at Lamborghini’s Sant’Agata Bolognese factory for approximately a decade. It was later gifted to MCA founder Fulvio Ballabio in the early 2000s.
Returned to its original colours
The Centenaire was refinished in blue around 2007 and appeared at that year’s Rétromobile alongside the Lamborghini Pregunta concept car.
That connection continues at Broad Arrow. The Pregunta was sold at the auction house’s inaugural Zoute Concours Auction in 2025 and came from the same collection as the Centenaire now being offered.
The current consignor acquired the MCA in France in 2014. Around two years later, its bodywork was restored and returned to the original Ivory White finish, while the red leather interior was preserved.
The car comes with an extensive history file containing MCA correspondence, press material, period photographs showing it at the Lamborghini factory and Rétromobile, and a copy of the agreement between Automobili Lamborghini and Fulvio Ballabio covering the supply of Lamborghini engines.
Jean-Louis Baldanza, Consignment Consultant at Broad Arrow Auctions, said: “It is an honour to present this piece of French supercar history.
“Offered from the same collection as the Lamborghini Pregunta concept car sold at our 2025 Zoute Concours Auction, this car has been exceptionally well cared for by its knowledgeable and fastidious owner and is now ready to be shown to the world.”
Gregory Tuytens, Head of Consignments for Belgium and The Netherlands at Broad Arrow Auctions, added: “Today’s collector demands exclusivity and this car is unrivalled in that regard.
“Every lot is truly remarkable, but if you want to own a supercar that nobody else has, the MCA Centenaire is it.”
The 1990 MCA Centenaire carries a pre-sale estimate of €900,000 to €1.2 million and will cross the block at Broad Arrow’s Zoute Concours Auction on 9 October.
- To visit the Broad Arrow Auction website for even more information, click here: https://www.broadarrowauctions.com/
