The first of just five MCA Centenaire supercars, powered by a Lamborghini Countach V12, will cross the auction block in Belgium this October. Monaco’s brief but fascinating attempt to build its own supercar is about to make another appearance on the collector-car stage.
Broad Arrow Auctions will offer a 1990 Monte Carlo Automotive (MCA) Centenaire, the first of just five examples built, at its Zoute Concours Auction in Knokke-Heist, Belgium, on October 9, 2026. The auction is being held during Zoute Grand Prix Car Week.
The Centenaire carries an estimate of €900,000–€1.2 million and has an extraordinary claim to fame: it was conceived as the world’s first road-going supercar with a carbon-fiber monocoque chassis, as well as the first supercar built in Monaco.
Monaco’s forgotten supercar
Monte Carlo Automotive was founded in 1985 by former Formula 2 and CART driver Fulvio-Maria Ballabio, who assembled an impressive group of Italian motorsport veterans to bring his vision to life.
The company’s technical operation was headed by Carlo Chiti, whose career included work with Scuderia Ferrari and Autodelta. The project also involved former Alfa Romeo sporting director Perluigi Corbari, Formula 1 specialist Marcel Zunnino, and former F1 driver and constructor Guglielmo Bellasi.
The resulting Centenaire debuted in 1990, coinciding with the centenary of the Automobile Club de Monaco. The car was subsequently presented to Prince Albert II, helping establish the project as Monaco’s own homegrown supercar.
Underneath its dramatic bodywork was an equally exotic powertrain. The Centenaire used a 5.2-liter Lamborghini V12, sourced from the same engine family used in the Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV. This particular car is one of the original three fitted with the 5.2-liter engine, producing 455 horsepower and sending power through a ZF six-speed manual transmission.
Only five road-going Centenaires were produced between 1990 and 1992. Two additional cars were later developed for testing ahead of a planned Le Mans effort, with reports claiming speeds of up to 354 km/h (220 mph) on the Mulsanne Straight.
The first Centenaire
The car heading to Zoute is particularly significant because it is the very first Centenaire produced.
According to an accompanying letter from MCA representative Matteo Ramello, the car began life as the original development and presentation chassis. After its initial testing and promotional duties, it was redesignated EL0002 and spent approximately a decade at Lamborghini’s factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese.
Lamborghini eventually gifted the car to MCA founder Fulvio Ballabio in the early 2000s.
Its history continued to evolve. The Centenaire was refinished in blue around 2007 and displayed at Rétromobile 2007, where it appeared alongside the Lamborghini Pregunta concept, the same one that Broad Arrow sold at its inaugural Zoute Concours Auction in 2025.
The current owner acquired the Centenaire in France in 2014. Around two years later, the body was restored and returned to its original Ivory White finish.
The red leather interior was carefully preserved, creating a striking combination that was intended to represent the national colors of Monaco.
The car is accompanied by an extensive history file containing MCA correspondence, period press material, photographs showing the car at Lamborghini’s factory and at Rétromobile, as well as a copy of the agreement between Automobili Lamborghini and Fulvio Ballabio covering the supply of its V12 engines.
“Today’s collector demands exclusivity and this car is unrivalled in that regard,” says Gregory Tuytens, Broad Arrow’s Head of Consignments for Belgium and The Netherlands.
That exclusivity is difficult to argue with. With only five Centenaires built, and this being the first, the MCA represents one of the more obscure chapters in the history of European supercars.
For collectors interested in the intersection of Monaco, Lamborghini and early carbon-fiber construction, the Centenaire offers an unusually deep story behind an almost forgotten badge.
The 1990 MCA Centenaire will be offered at Broad Arrow’s Zoute Concours Auction on October 9, 2026, at Approach Golf in Knokke-Heist, Belgium, with an estimate of €900,000–€1.2 million.
