Monaco might be the second smallest country in the world by area, but the principality on the Riviera has developed one of the densest car scenes anywhere. The city state is not only home to the most famous rally in the WRC-calendar, the host of the most prestigious Formula 1 Grand Prix and a mecca for car spotters from all over the globe, but it has also produced its own cars.

Founded by racing driver Fulvio Maria Ballabio, the company Monte Carlo Automotive (MCA) was by far the most significant player in the tiny automotive industry. Unveiled in May 1990, the MCA Centenaire was actually the first street legal car in the world to feature a carbon chassis. This meant the now largely forgotten exotic car beat the Jaguar XJR-15 and the ultimate nineties icon, the McLaren F1, to the punch. This innovation was no coincidence, as Ballabio had brought concentrated Italian motorsport expertise on board for his supercar project.

He hired Carlo Chiti as technical director. Earlier in his career, Chiti played a key role in developing the successful Ferrari 156 Sharknose Formula 1 car. He later founded and built up Alfa Romeo's Autodelta motorsport division and developed the V8 for the street version of the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale. The MCA Centenaire would be his last project before his death in 1994. Former Formula 1 driver and constructor Guglielmo Bellasi also contributed his experience with carbon composite materials. The car was named to mark the 100th anniversary of the Automobile Club de Monaco. It was presented to the then Crown Prince Albert, whose support made the Centenaire the official supercar of the principality.

When it came to the powertrain, Ballabio opted against an expensive in house development at first. Instead, he signed a contract with Lamborghini in 1990 to supply the powerful and sonorous twelve cylinder engines from Sant'Agata. The 5.2 liter 455 horsepower V12 from the Countach 5000 QV roared behind the seats of the Monegasque coupe. It delivered its power to the rear wheels via a six speed manual transmission from ZF. Two further developed examples of the Centenaire reportedly reached an impressive 354 km/h during test drives on the Mulsanne straight ahead of the 1993 Le Mans 24 Hours.

MCA significantly evolved its only model throughout the nineties, utilizing various names and engine options. However, only sixteen examples of the original Centenaire were built between 1990 and 1994. Broad Arrow is auctioning the  of these on October 9 at its The Zoute Concours Auction in Knokke-Heist, Belgium. A letter from MCA representative Matteo Ramello confirms that this is the original chassis number 001. The car initially served as a development, test and presentation car and was later given the new chassis number EL0002.

The car then stood at Lamborghini in Sant'Agata Bolognese for about ten years. In the early 2000s, Lamborghini gifted it to MCA founder Ballabio. It was repainted blue around 2007 and exhibited at Rétromobile the same year. The current owner purchased the car in 2014. About two years later, he had the bodywork restored by Établissements Lecoq and repainted in its original ivory white; the red leather interior was retained. It was the only Centenaire to leave the factory in this combination matching the national colors of Monaco. According to the auction house, this supercar with its somewhat polarizing rounded styling is expected to change hands for between 900,000 and 1.2 million euros.

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