In 1912, the Titanic sank, taking with it a rare and expensive automobile. The car was a 25-horsepower Renault Type CB Coupe de Ville, owned by William Carter, a wealthy American businessman. Carter had purchased the car in France and was bringing it back to the United States as a gift for his wife. The car was loaded onto the Titanic in Southampton and was stored in the ship’s cargo hold during the voyage.
When the Titanic struck an iceberg and began to sink, there was no time to retrieve the car from the cargo hold. Some reports suggest that the car was actually strapped to the deck of the ship in an attempt to save it, but it ultimately went down with the rest of the ship. The car was never recovered from the wreckage.
The Renault Type CB Coupe de Ville was a luxury vehicle, considered to be one of the finest cars of its time. Only a handful of these cars were ever made, making it a valuable and rare collector’s item. The loss of the car symbolized the tragedy of the Titanic sinking and added to the legend of the ill-fated ship. Today, the story of the car that went down with the Titanic serves as a reminder of the lives lost and the luxury lost in the disaster.