It was a mystery worthy of an Agatha Christie whodunit. Back in 1995, when Bugatti Automobili S.p.A and its owner Romano Artioli declared bankruptcy, one of its newly completed EB110 Super Sport supercars went missing. The car—one of an estimated 30 Super Sport examples built—had been reportedly shipped to a supplier for training before being given any official certification. When the banks began pulling together the company’s assets to pay outstanding debts, the Super Sport, chassis No. 021 painted in that iconic shade of Blu Bugatti, failed to appear on any ledgers.

Word has it that the supplier, fearing it would not get paid, simply held on to the car, tucking it away in storage until the bankruptcy was settled. It never came out. Fast forward 24 years to 2019, and with equal mystery, the car suddenly surfaced in Munich, Germany, in as-new condition, with just 665 kilometers (approximately 413 miles) on the odometer.

After service work by top Bugatti specialists at B Engineering in Italy, the car was reportedly sold to American collector J.R. Amantea, of Connecticut-based GT Motor Cars, and shipped stateside wearing a distinctive LOSTEBSS license plate. The vehicle was shown at the Quail, A Motorsports Gathering during Monterey Car Week in 2022, and at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in 2023. It won best-in-class at both events.

After being quietly sold in a private sale, through Broad Arrow Auctions, for an undisclosed sum in December of last year, this “lost” Bugatti is now coming up for auction at Mecum’s Indy sale on May 16, where it’s part of the impressive 41-car assemblage known as the M Group Collection. Importantly, it’s being offered with no reserve.

“Chassis 021 is one of only 30 produced, and combines extraordinary originality, ultra-low mileage, and a remarkable rediscovery story to stand among the most important EB110 Super Sports known,” David Morton, senior communications manager at Mecum Auctions, tells Robb Report.

While Mecum declines to give a value estimate for the Bugatti, recent sales suggest $2.5 million to $3.5 million as a good guideline. In 2021, a 1994 Super Sport sold at Bonhams’ Zoute auction in Belgium for roughly $2.64 million, and a 1993 EB110 Super Sport prototype sold at the RM Sotheby’s 2024 Monterey auction for $2.15 million. The standout to date, though, is a silver Super Sport—with 616 miles—that sold for a record $3.16 million at Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach auction in 2022.

Before Volkswagen took over the fabled Bugatti brand in 1998, leading to the ground-breaking Veyron in 2005, it was owned by Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli. Using some of the world’s leading supercar engineers and specialists at the time, Artioli developed the original EB110. Artioli launched it on September 15, 1991, the date of company founder Ettore Bugatti’s 110th birthday, doing so with a party for an estimated 10,000 guests in Paris.

Built on an advanced carbon-fiber monocoque by French aerospace giant Aerospatiale, the Marcello Gandini–designed, all-wheel-drive EB110 is powered by a 3.5-liter quad-turbo V-12 producing 553 hp and mated to a six-speed manual transmission. In 1992, Artioli unveiled the EB110 Super Sport variant, with nearly 400 pounds shaved from its weight and a retuned V-12 producing 603 hp. The Super Sport version is capable of rocketing from zero to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds, and can reach a top speed of 216 mph. It was the fastest supercar at the time.

In total, 139 examples of the EB110 (including the Super Sport) came out of Bugatti ‘s former factory in Campogalliano, near Modena in Italy’s “Motor Valley.” The model’s high-profile owners included Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher, who celebrated his first Formula 1 Championship by purchasing a bright-yellow Super Sport in 1994. It was chassis No. 020, one car earlier than this auction example.

The Mecum car, now with just 418 miles on the clock, comes with an all-important Bugatti Certificate of Conformity, along with its original books and tools. It also features Romano Artioli’s signature beside the left-side porthole air intakes. Says Morton: “Opportunities like this are exceedingly rare, and Mecum Auctions is pleased to be a part of this historic car’s story.”

Click here for more photos of this 1995 Bugatti EB110 Super Sport.