Car Mysteries That Are Still Mind-Boggling – SlashGear

First-class passenger William E. Carter boarded the Titanic with his family and his newly-acquired Renault Type CB Coupe de Ville, the only car to be taken on the ship. Carter and his family survived when the ship infamously sank, but his car was not so lucky. It was reportedly stored in the ship’s port-side Orlop Deck storage area, a part of the ship that stayed relatively intact even after it sank (via Hagerty). Despite this, the car has never been located by divers, despite several attempts. It’s likely that, by now, there isn’t too much of the car left anyway, as over a hundred years’ worth of seawater exposure would have rotted its frame significantly.

However, it’s unlikely to have disintegrated altogether, especially since plenty of other metal items have survived long enough for divers to find them. It seems odd, then, that the Renault seems to have completely vanished, despite being in a part of the ship that remained fairly secure on its journey to the sea floor. After his escape, Carter successfully made a $5,000 insurance claim for the loss of the car, which Hagerty reports is the equivalent of around $130,000 today. Very few original Type CBs survive today, but one changed hands at an RM Sotheby’s auction in 2008 for $269,500 (pictured above).