How many Bugatti Type 49s are left in New Zealand?
Unicorn 1 in 4,674,872 on the road Built 1930 British
Updated from the NZTA Motor Vehicle Register, counted as at 31 August 2026. Recounted every month.
Successor to the Type 44 and the last of Bugatti's single-camshaft touring cars, made from 1930 to 1934. Its 3.3-litre straight eight had two spark plugs for each cylinder, and many owners rate it the nicest to drive of the road cars that came before the Type 57.
Still on the road, by model year
1 from 1930.
What Unicorn means
Spotto grades every car by how many are still registered in New Zealand. With 1 still registered, the Bugatti Type 49 is Unicorn: the grade for cars with fewer than 5 left.
By how many are left it ranks equal 3rd of the 7 Bugatti models and equal 2,668th of all 2,903 cars in Spotto's catalogue.
The six grades: Common, 8,000 or more · Uncommon, 1,200 to 7,999 · Scarce, 175 to 1,199 · Rare, 25 to 174 · Super rare, 5 to 24 · Unicorn, fewer than 5.
Seen one?
Spotto grades every car on New Zealand roads by how many are still registered, down to the generation and the badge. Log the ones you spot, build a collection, and see who else has found one.