How many Bugatti Type 51s are left in New Zealand?
Unicorn 1 in 4,674,872 on the road Built 1932 European
Updated from the NZTA Motor Vehicle Register, counted as at 31 August 2026. Recounted every month.
The Grand Prix car that followed the Type 35, introduced in 1931. It looked much the same but had a new twin-camshaft, supercharged 2.3-litre straight eight. Louis Chiron won that year's Monaco Grand Prix in one, and only around forty were built.
Still on the road, by model year
1 from 1932.
What Unicorn means
Spotto grades every car by how many are still registered in New Zealand. With 1 still registered, the Bugatti Type 51 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.