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New: Bugatti book for sale (December 24)
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New: Bugatti: 100 years of Innovations and Excellence at strongly reduced price. (June 25)
New book: Silver Clouds: The 1934 Grand Prix Season by Paul Chenard. (June 25)
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New book announcements:
Picture Sheets of the Bugattis, per Catagory
Information on the Bugatti types is also included!
This site was missed since 2001, I put it back on line, thanks to Pascal van Mele, the version is of January 2001!
Especially the the Hunting for Bugatti Information, "Everything Bugatti" (articles) and the Bugatti cars database are of the most interest, but you will find much more!!!
However, of course Jacob does not respond to mails anymore, some older links may not work, the Pim Faber books, models and stamps databases do not work, and the Hunting Bugatti Questions are not followed up. As a service, I will post all answers to his existing questions on my pages, new questions will be published on my site also!
There are many used cars for sale in Britain. Just because you are buying a second hand car does not mean you cannot find a great car. There are many sports cars available and you can even find a Bugatti so visit Motors.co.uk
Books
The following 13 models are amongst Bugatti’s most famous and well loved, ranked in no particular order. If you can find these models outside of museums you will be lucky, but getting temporary car insurance to cover you for a quick drive is not going to be easy.
Veyron
This has been a headline grabber ever since it was launched in 2005, first for its insane price point and second for its even more insane top speed of
253 mph. The original Veyron lost its title as the world's fastest production car to the SSC Ultimate Aero TT, but the 1200 horse power SuperSport version of the Veyron soon reclaimed the title, hitting 267.85 mph.
EB 110
Produced in the early 1990s, the EB 110 had a top speed of 213 mph which at the time was very impressive. Its design may be very reminiscent of the period in which it was made but it is an undeniable classic of the supercar world.
Type 57
A healthy production run of the Type 57 and its S variant during the 1930s made it popular at a time when temporary car insurance was not a concern.
Type 73C
In the post-war period this vehicle was seen as a potential resurgence for Bugatti but the death of its designer Ettore Bugatti meant it never really got off the drawing board and only a single one was completed with the rest being dismantled.
Type 13
Considered by most to be first true production vehicle, this model eventually morphed into various other types up to 23. Production of the Type 13 ran well into the 1920s, with 16 valve engines being introduced into this and all ‘Brescia’ types after WWI.
Type 32
The Type 32 was nicknamed the Tank, in part because various experiments with aerodynamic designs gave it a look that was more militaristic than racy. It competed once and was put out to pasture because of shoddy handling, but it is nevertheless a testament to the innovative nature of Bugatti vehicles.
Type 43
A supercharged engine taken from the racing type 35B pulled the Type 43 120bhp to 60mph in under 12 seconds, which was a seriously sporty performance for the time.
Type 101
This vehicle was used to reboot the brand in the 1950s and it is thought of by fans of the manufacturer as its last official launch. With only six ever produced, do not expect to get temporary car insurance to cover this or any other model.
Type 35
Perhaps the most famous and successful of all Bugatti’s racing models, the Type 35 won over 1,000 races and claimed the 1926 Grand Prix World Championship title. The phenomenal success of the model helped to establish Bugatti’s arch-shaped radiator as a trademark feature that would be forever associated with the manufacturer.
Type 41
Known as the ‘Royale’, the Bugatti Type 41 emerged in 1931 with only six ever completed. The model was Bugatti’s largest in terms of both length and engine displacement and featured a dramatic, sweeping fender that helped make it one of the most desirable cars in the world.
Type 55
Featuring the Type 51’s 2.3l straight-8 engine, the Type 55 Supersport Roadster benefitted from Jean Bugatti’s masterful bodywork, making it a legendary model. The wide, strong ladder frame chassis taken from the type 47 was ideal for this high end supercar, which remains capable of fetching seven figures on today’s market.
On the AutoXY.co.uk search engine, ads of new and used cars currently on the web can be found with just one click!
Whiplash is one of the most common injuries sustained during a car accident and can be painful and reduce functionality of the neck, for more info especially if you are looking for advice on whiplash claims, visit Irwinmitchell.com.
January 23, 2011
The Scottsdale auction, January 20-21, 2012
1928 Bugatti Type 38 Tourer, body by J. Figoni. Sold for $495,000. Just short of the estimate of $500,000 - $650,000
In a workshop north of Detroit, craftsmen have been at work for months pounding pieces of aluminum into panels. The panels will eventually cover a Bugatti chassis that has been bodyless for more than seven decades.
Three Bugatti Type 64 Coupe chassis were built in 1939 by Jean Bugatti, and two of them got bodies before Bugatti was killed while testing the Le Mans-winning Type 57 C “Tank” in August 1939. The third, chassis No. 64002--with its gleaming riveted duraluminum frame rails, cast duraluminum firewall and suspension pieces--was never bodied.
Until now. Noted Bugatti collector Peter Mullin bought the rolling chassis, with a 3.3-liter DOHC straight-eight engine, in 2003 after the chassis won an award at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2002. He began a process to create a body for it, with the goal of displaying the finished car at his Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, Calif.
“The thing I thought a lot about was the approach,” he said. “Do I make a modern, avant-garde-shaped design? Do I make an evolution of the Atlantic?
“It's impossible to put yourself in Jean Bugatti's shoes and make the car he would have made. But what we have tried to do here with this design--like using the original sketches for the papillon [French for “butterfly”] doors--is paying respect to Jean Bugatti and his attention to art and engineering.”
Enter Stewart Reed, head of the transportation design department at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., and principal of Stewart Reed Design. He has a long history of automotive design, having worked for, among others, Jeep, Chrysler and Toyota.
“Peter has a wonderful idea about preserving and teaching people about art deco design,” he said. “At the outset, I didn't know that much about the Type 64. It's really quite a transition from the Type 57 Atlantic. Peter has exercised some real scholarship and study in terms of what was being done in this era at Bugatti and what Jean Bugatti was doing.”
Eight Art Center students, selected by Reed, were asked to submit ideas for the body. “They came up with quite an interesting range of solutions,” he said. But ultimately, Mullin decided to make the body more evolutionary to the Type 57 Atlantic. Students made their presentations to Mullin and several of his invited friends. He decided to have Reed proceed with the project. As for the cost, Mullin shied away from a total, saying it is, “in the ballpark of a very expensive restoration.”
Reed said special attention was paid to a couple of engineering elements that Bugatti employed. Bugatti was working on a plane in the late 1930s, so the company was expanding its use of aluminum; the chassis and several major components were made of the material. It was decided the Type 64's body would be made of aluminum and, in some places, would have exposed rivets, as on a plane. The windows would be acrylic, also planelike.
Jean Bugatti, company founder Ettore Bugatti's son, designed the doors, which are hinged at the top of the body. They predate Mercedes-Benz gullwing doors by more than a decade, and Reed's design incorporates this feature. Then Mullin began looking for a coachbuilder.
“We visited half a dozen shops before deciding on Mike Kleeves,” said Webb Farrer, director of automobile restorations at the Mullin museum.
Kleeves owns Automobile Metal Shaping and has more than 30 years of experience restoring exotic sports and race cars and bringing Detroit Three concept cars to life. Kleeves has a reputation for being able to fabricate body panels that are no longer manufactured or available. For the Bugatti, Kleeves and his staff are using a 1940s-vintage hammer press that he salvaged from the General Motors Tech Center.
The process began with the chassis being shipped to Kleeves's shop, where it was placed on a surface plate--a large metal base with a computer-controlled measuring device--and the suspension preloaded with the approximate weight of the new body. Reed's drawings were transferred to a water-cut mahogany buck constructed on an adjacent surface plate, so that at any point, precise measurements could be made to make sure that all of the parts fit.
The body panels are moved from the hammer to the buck, back and forth, making sure the fit is correct. “If someone was to design and build a body today, it would be done based on a foam-core structure,” Farrer said. “It was very important for us to tell the story the way it would have been done back in the day.”
The buck will become part of the display at the museum. The body will be able to be removed, in one piece, to display both the chassis and the body.
“We're doing it by the exact same method that coachbuilders have done for years,” Kleeves said.
“The one thing that is really out of the ordinary is that the body is going to be raised off the chassis three feet in the air. Normally, you fit the body to the chassis. But the body has to be raised in order to display the chassis. That's presented some engineering challenges that we're working on now. It has to be very durable.”
If all goes well, Kleeves and crew will complete the body this spring, and the car will debut to the public at Pebble Beach in August.
“Peter's whole goal is to shepherd these cars for this century and to leave them in better shape than when he received them so the next generations can appreciate these cars as much as he has,” Farrer said.
The car is not going to be finished completely. The interior will be left much the way it is now, and the aluminum body will not be painted. “It's like an unfinished symphony,” Reed said. “It will always be a work in progress.”
From www.autoweek.com, by Roger Hart
At the current event in Maastricht, Interclassics & Topmobiel, Bruno Vendiesse from France is presenting a genuine Barnfind type 40. It can be seen there until tomorrow (January 15).
The body is by Louis Wiederkehr from Colmar, no further info yet.
Info from PrewarCar.com
By David Grainger
It has been quite a while since I wrote a progress report on the Bugatti Aerolithe that I have been building for several years. Despite the lengthy period, I still get regular requests to update the progress.
Despite many readers' concerns that the project has become moribund, it hasn't, and, in fact, it has never even slowed down, but it has reached a difficult stage where we have been producing all the tiny bits and pieces required to build a car from scratch. Add to that the stipulation that the parts being manufactured had to replicate exactly the style and engineering of 1936 and it became extraordinarily time consuming. It also lent very little to the creation of sparkling progress reports.
Now, I am happy to say that 95% of the parts manufacture is done. The only major fabrication remaining is finalizing the two front fenders, hood and the aprons that surround the frame and radiator. We will also need to create the hold-downs and hood hinges for these, but those are small items quickly rendered.
The frame and driveline is complete and the engine is just having its final inspection before it is assembled for the very last time. The interior is ready to install with just the upholstering of the seats remaining. We chose pale green leather in keeping with the exterior colour of the car, which is a very silvery green. This will no doubt be contentious as common myth and misunderstanding is that the car was silver.
Our proof for the colour we are using is a painting executed by a Bugatti engineer by the name of Bigtet in 1936. He presented the painting as a gift to Jean Bugatti, the car's designer and heir to the Bugatti dynasty. It seems hardly likely that he would have painted the car any colour but the correct one and, in the painting, the Aerolithe is represented flying down a rural road at speed and it is most definitely light green.
The entire rear shell and rear fenders are complete and under paint. The correct tail lights were sourced in France and we had to build the mounts and sockets into the rear fenders, which sweep around the rear of the car and meet in the middle. The amazing fin that runs from the front of the car over its roof and down the long tapering tail is complete and filled with all of its rivet detail. The rivet size and distance apart were carefully scaled from the photographs and are exactly as original.
The spoked wheels were manufactured to specification, but there is a problem with the tires. We have period-appropriate Dunlops on the car. However, when it appeared at the Paris auto show, it sported whitewall Dunlops with the Dunlop script in raised black lettering. This has been a problem. A few years ago, I had great luck with Dunlop recreating tires for another Bugatti project and it was very supportive. But, this time, despite repeated attempts, we have failed to garner any interest or even returned phone calls from the company.
I had the instruments for the car restored by a specialist in Holland, and they were wildly expensive, coming in at a cool $9,400. But they did arrive in their own custom metal briefcase with a wonderful wooden plaque with my firm's name and commissioning date. That made me feel much better about the cost.
The chassis of the car is absolutely original and any alterations that we had to make to it were done with the addition of a few milled blocks of machined aluminum. This was done to implement the setback for the motor. In the Aerolithe, the motor was 90 centimetres (probably 90 millimetres, ed.) back from the usual motor mount points. We created machined aluminum blocks shaped to curve with the engine and chassis and be quite unobtrusive. Other than that, the new coachwork fits the old chassis like a glove. This is despite the widely held belief by many entrenched Bugattistes that the car had a very different frame from the original standard Type 57 Bugatti frame we have used.
In my innocence I told of this discovery in print both here and abroad several years ago and have been the subject of quite a bit of mail, most of it quite hateful. Most amusingly, I was accosted at Retromobile in Paris last winter and I am sure that my detractor found it quite frustrating that I really and genuinely don't care which is right or wrong as the car I am building is not the original Aerolithe. That car most likely ended up in the smelters of wartime Europe.
We will certainly be finished by late winter or early spring next year. Many people have asked what will happen once it is finished. That is entirely up to the car's long-suffering and very patient owner but, whatever its fate, I am sure it will create a stir wherever it goes and impress all who see it. Even 75% assembled, the car's lines and details are breathtaking, and no mean-spirited criticisms or controversy will ever be able to alter that fact.
Surprised? So was I, until I learned that the clothing magnate is selling minatures of 4 of the major examples in his collection:
NEW YORK — Style icon Ralph Lauren has surrounded himself with models this holiday season, but not the long-legged kind. He has taken four favorites from his world-renowned classic car collection and replicated them as scale models, selling them online and in Ralph Lauren Home stores for $9,500 each.
To encourage collectors, each sports a unique edition number and certificate.
Creating them is an exercise in patience. Each car was digitally scanned to capture each detail and curve. The technology is accurate to one tenth of a millimeter over the length of the car, which translates to an authentic scale reproduction of the original.
From there, artists create a master model using a combination of digital machining, traditional engineering and hand craft skills. This process takes about 3,000 hours of work by a team of model makers. Each individual model then takes approximately 350 hours more to complete.
Some of those hours include hand spraying each model with authentic automotive paint and then hand polishing it to create a shiny finish.
The wire wheels are assembled from approximately 140 tiny and precisely machined aluminum components, with separate spokes and nipples to mirror the originals. When all the parts have been fettled, sanded and polished, each model is assembled by a small team of model makers.
Just the Facts:
Dubai, 10th November 2011 – At the Dubai International Motor Show the legendary French brand presents three very special models of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport, which is the fastest, most powerful and exclusive open top car in the world. It is Bugatti’s intention to honour the very important Middle East market with this threefold variety and to provide its highly exclusive clientele in the Middle East an insight into how creativity and inspiration can be successfully driven to individualised luxury.
The first Grand Sport on display at Dubai Motor Show has a horizontal colour split with a bright yellow body and a underside in visible black carbon, including black-tinted wheels. The striking contrast of black and yellow, Ettore Bugatti’s favorite colours, is continued by seats finished in yellow-colored leather with black stitching. The middle console is in black carbon, while the dashboard, steering wheel and gearshift are encased in black leather with yellow stitching. This Grand Sport model comes at a price of 1.58 million euros.
The second individualized Grand Sport model is also presented in a two-tone horizontal colour split consisting of visible blue carbon, framed in polished, anodised aluminium. The rims are highlighted in an aluminium polished and Diamond Cut two-tone finish. The grills at the front and the air intakes are in aluminium with a mirror shine finish. The interior of this car is finished with tangerine leather throughout. Only the door panels, dashboard, steering wheel and console are covered in dark blue Indigo leather or exposed blue carbon fibre, with tangerine stitching on the steering wheel and gearshift knob. This special edition model has a price of 1.74 million euros.
The third Grand Sport comes in the newly developed green carbon fibre tone with polished aluminium. This special model takes up the traditional Bugatti two-tone-specification. The rims, the exterior rearview mirrors and even the EB-logo at the rear are of polished aluminium to create an elegant and harmonious overall appearance. The interior, especially and tastefully selected, is also dominated in green and silver which matches perfectly with the flamboyant exterior.
The third Dubai Motor Show 2011 special edition model will be delivered at a price of 1.74 million euros.
All these models fully stand in the tradition of Ettore Bugatti’s constant strive to use new colour schemes and materials to provide his clientele with unique cars for its exclusive taste. Today Bugatti is still expanding the possibilities of options to offer more and more sophisticated individualisation.
In cooperation with the Bugatti design and engineering teams, Bugatti customers can tailor their vehicles to their personal preferences by choosing from a broad array of exquisite materials and colours. The three models in Dubai display an ever growing number of options available to existing and new Grand Sport owners.
Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. has limited the Grand Sport to 150 units of which 45 have been sold and 105 slots are still open. The cars will be manufactured at the Bugatti factory in Molsheim, France.
The finished car will be presented to invited experts and enthusiasts on November 10. This private event is the first step to public events during the next months so most enthusiasts will get a chance to see the result of the restauration.
For the restauration 1500 original drawings were used, as well as a movie from 1922 which shows for the only time the T28 riding through Molsheim.
Info from the original invitation:
La renaissance de ce prototype ,
laboratoire de la marque Bugatti, a été réalisée
en 2010/2011 sous la conduite du comité scientifique
et de l’atelier de restauration du Musée national
de l’Automobile avec tout particulièrement :
Auction result
January 17, 2011
Peter Mullin's Bugatti Type 64 chassis gets a body
Autoweek video showing the design and design process
January 14, 2011
Bugatti Barnfind presented in Maastricht!
December 24, 2011
Bugatti Aerolithe project nears finish line
While no colour photographs exist of the car, we were fortunate to have stumbled across colour photographs of another Bugatti of the same vintage, which is identical in colour to the painting. Voila!
What we have recently discovered is that Dunlop may never have made wide whitewall tires, and those sported by the cars on the Bugatti stand in 1936 may have actually been painted. This makes life easier, but it will no doubt stir another hornets' nest of controversy. (Yes, the politics of Bugatti enthusiasts are that anal.)
I had the body built with no reference to the frame, only to the few photographs that existed of the car, so we were all very surprised when the body fit the standard chassis with virtually no problems. In fact, if we had been mounting the coachwork on the supercharged frame that many feel was under the Aerolithe, we would have had to make quite a few alterations.
November 20, 2011
Ralph Lauren is selling his car collection!
The chosen cars are 1:8 scales of the Bugatti 57 SC Atlantic Coupe, which Lauren acquired in 1988. It was the last of the chassis built and ordered originally in 1937 by Richard B. Pope of London. The other models are a McLaren F1 LM, Ferrari 250 GTO and Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa.
Ralph Lauren Home has introduced 1:8th scale models of style icon Ralph Lauren's personal classic cars collection.
The Bugatti 57 SC Atlantic Coupe, McLaren F1 LM, Ferrari 250 GTO and Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa cost $9,500 each.
They are available online and in Ralph Lauren Home stores.
November 13, 2011
Bugatti crowns the 2011 Dubai International Motor Show with three spectacular Middle East versions of the Grand Sport
November 5, 2011 
Mulhouse museum will present the restored T28
The Musée national de l’Automobile just finished the restoration of the prototype 28 that Ettore Bugatti showed as a frame in Paris 1921 and in London 1922. The car is running again and returned to his 1922 “torpedo” condition, as we can see it in the film showing the “Fabrique d’Automobiles Ettore Bugatti” in Molsheim at this time. It is really a big sensation to drive this car, silent and powerful like … the Royale.
Sources essentielles :
1500 plans d’usine et un film de 1922 qui montre
pour la seule et unique fois ce torpedo en mouvement
à Molsheim.
Avant cela, il fut exposé sous forme de châssis
au Salon de Paris en 1921, puis à Londres en 1922.
Ce premier huit cylindres de la Fabrique d’Automobiles
Bugatti, a profondément marqué l’essentiel
de la production de la marque à compter de 1925,
en particulier le type 44 et la célèbre Royale.
Stocké à l’usine, il fut acheté en 1963 par les frères
Schlumpf qui l’ont remis en état selon le goût
de leur époque.
Click the picture above of the Type 28 at the 1922 London motorshow, for a pictorial overview of history and restauration of this very special and significant Bugatti.
Chevau-Legers Auction, September 25, 2011, Trianon Palace, Versailles, France:
Bugatti T57 «Therese» by Bertelli wins best of show at Auto Clasica, Buenos AiresThis past weekend was held in Buenos Aires, the most classic car show in South America. Hugo Carparelli sends the pictures. Exposed were more than 500 cars and 350 vintage motorcycles.
Most interesting was Bugatti's stand was attended by ten exemplary of the brand, all original, some of them in condition as when they left the factory.
A choice of known and unknown Bugattis, with of course the Capt. Giles designed Type 57 (chassis 57316, owned by Calilo Sielecki) being very well known, as well as the 5 litre "Chassis 471" which used to be Ettore's personal car (and the same present owner as the Bertelli).
Also a very special car (owned also by the Sielecki family) is the T29/30, One of the four factory race cars for the 1922 Strasbourg GP and only survivor of the five 1923 Indianapolis 500 team cars (Chassis 4004).
Also there a choice of other Bugattis, GP's, Types 38, 40, 44, 49 and of course a T57 Ventoux.
Bugatti Royale Prototype recreation presented at Molsheim Festival
During the Bugatti Festival, which took place in Molsheim in the weekend of September 9-11 in splendid weather conditons, the recreation of the Prototype Royale (Chassis 41.100) was unveiled to the event partakers, and in the afternoon presented to all enthusiasts present.
The original prototype first received a Packard body, was then rebodied into a Coupé Fiacre, then into a Saloon Fiacre, and finally into a Weymann Coach. In this last car, Ettore crashed. After this, 41.100 was rebuilt, and received the current Coupé Napoleon body. However, some sources indicate that for this second version of 41.100 no parts of the original prototype were used, and that the chassis frame and some other parts (front axle mainly) of the prototype did indeed survive.
According to the owner and builders of the recreation presented in Molsheim on September 10, these parts were used for this recreation, as well as an original Packard body. Though the owners intend to fit the car with an early Royale engine (with double ignition on either side of the block), the car at this moment has the 2nd Tom Wheatcroft engine, as the original Bugatti engine needed too much overhaul to be ready in time. Due to problems with the gearbox, the car did not run at the time of the presentation. The Recreation of the Prototype Royale was done by Hevec Classics in the Netherlands, for an undisclosed owner who is also Dutch. The instruments were recreated by Martin IJdo of Historic Engineering in the Netherlands.
The unveiling was done at the HardtMuhle, the original part of the factory (still existing and maintained on the grounds of Messier-Bugatti) at the exact location where a photograph of the original was taken. At that moment Ettore was standing beside the Royale on his horse, reenacted now by his granddaughter Caroline Bugatti.
When inspecting the Royale from up close, one can see that the fnish is superb, and that hood!! it must be the longest in the history of the automobile! Very impressive! The wheels and tires may look odd, but that is because these were in fact different for the Prototype than for the later "production" Royales, which are of course much better known. The Binder Coupé de Ville was also present at the Festival in Molsheim, and was presented for the jury.
Thanks to Daniel Lapp, EBA member and member of the festival comittee, for the pictures
P.s.: A more complete report, with pictures of all Bugattis present, will be published at a later date in the Bugatti Revue.
September 20, 2011 Bonhams Auction at: Fairfield Concours d'Elegance, Exceptional Collectors' Motorcars and Automobilia, 17 Sep 2011 to 18 Sep 2011, Connecticut, Westport
1938 Bugatti Type 57 Series 3 Ventoux Coupe, Chassis no. 57701, Engine no. 494. Estimate: US$150,000 - 200,000: Sold at $337,000
From sportscardigest.com:
Lot # 764 1938 Bugatti Type 57 Series 3 Ventoux Coupe; S/N 57701; Engine # 494; Blue/Blue leather; Estimate $150,000 - $200,000; Unrestored original, 4+ condition; Hammered Sold at $300,000 plus commission of 12.33%; Final Price $337,000 -- RHD. Right front fender primed, left front fender partially stripped by grinding off the original paint, the rest of the body original, dull and dusty. Dull bright trim, surface creased and cracked original upholstery. Complete instruments, sound interior wood trim and steering wheel rim. Original matching numbers engine and chassis and original body with engine fire damage. History gap in the 40's and 50's but one owner since 1964 who fixed the operating faults but never completed the bodywork repairs. Bonhams' Eric Ide addressed the 47 year old problems and brought it to life for the auction where it was driven onto the Fairfield Concours field and across the auction block. Early clouds of smoke from Marvel Mystery Oil were gone by the time it reached the block, an impressive presentation. Bidding went right to $210,000, then slowed to steady competition among three bidders to this price. It is much more complete and sound than it first appears, being primed, stripped and original in patches that emphasize its barn-find character and disguises its completeness and originality. The new owner was overjoyed -- as were the family of the long term owner -- a happy ending to an epic tale.
Looks like the new boss of Bugatti is serious about maintaining the brand's reputation for vehicles that are over the top in every way possible.
New Bugatti boss Wolfgang Durheimer has put Bugatti's much-hyped four-door super sedan on hold because it's not yet an "argument stopper," sources have admitted.
A decision will be made later this year about the future of the Galibier after Durheimer posed some tricky questions to Bugatti's engineering team about comfort, interior space and performance, sources said.
The concept car originally proposed 800 horsepower as the target figure, and it is understood that Durheimer is less than satisfied with that output.
"In his opinion," our source confirmed, "there should not even be a question about the best car in the world when you sit down to discuss it with your billionaire buddies.
"He doesn't want to build it until it's the car that finishes the argument, not the car that starts it.
"Right now, it's definitely not enough (power) and it needs more space and comfort, especially in the rear.
"It's 800 horsepower now, but there are tuners today who can give you that and we don't want our car to be involved in any discussion that involves tuners, so we have to move the benchmarks."
Bonhams auction, Beaulieu, UK, September 10, 2011
Bugatti Type 57, Galibier, chassis 57380
Estimate: £40,000 - 50,000: Sold at £166,500 including premiums
The lot received an overwhelming amount of interest, with 10 telephone lines, six absentee bids and 12 bidders in the room.
September 3, 2011 These days, unknown Bugattis usually pop-up only once a year or less. Surprisingly, there are now two in one month, and both will be sold at auction.
1938 Bugatti Type 57 Series 3 Ventoux Coupe, Chassis no. 57701, Engine no. 494
Single ownership since 1962 offered from the Estate of an Engineer
This recent find in central Pennsylvania is the dream of any true collector. Quite literally the legend of the 'Bugatti in the Barn' the car has laid unused for more than three decades and comes to the market for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Bugatti historian David Sewell has confirmed to Bonhams that 57701 was invoiced by the Bugatti works to agent Sechaud of Geneva, for the sum of 82,224 French Francs. It was delivered there on September 22, 1938 and fitted from new with factory Ventoux coachwork, painted in dark blue with matched dark blue leather to its interior.
According to register notes by the early 1960s, the car had been imported to the U.S. from Karl Ivansson of Switzerland, and was now the property of E. Allen Henderson of Marlboro, NJ. At some time around this point, the car suffered from an engine bay fire which damaged the driver's side hood panel and blistered much of the paint on the front end of the car.
Nevertheless, it was particularly appealing to the late owner, who was a qualified and passionate electrical and mechanical engineer. He acquired the Bugatti in around 1964 from Marlboro Motors and set about returning it to the road. Accordingly, the paint was stripped from these items and the wiring loom which must have perished was renewed. It is known that when this work was complete, the car was made to run after an electrical fault was sleuthed and fixed and it was actually used for runs in 1966. However, the work was never finished, and so it lay unused from this time right through to today.
To judge from the condition of the car today, its leather trim must almost certainly be the original and save for some rodent damage to one seat base is intact, its paint is thought to have been redone at one point, but again this is also in a dark blue hue, and either matches the original or may just be original. Intriguingly, just over 22,000 kilometers are shown on the odometer, which given the succinct history and taken in the context of the generally unworn leather and pedal covers, may be an accurate reading from new. At the time of photography, many of the parts not fitted to the car were found in the same garage, including the original 'eye-brow' bumpers and unfitted Marchal side light, while inspection also confirmed that the car retains its original engine and this unit is confirmed as being 'free'.
Following in the truest Bonhams tradition of finding the rarest and most interesting historic automobiles, including a handful of significant Bugattis, in view of the generally original and unspoilt nature of this Ventoux, it may well represent a potential entry for preservation categories at concours level, or else a fine basis for restoration.
The Bugatti will be shown on the field at the Fairfield County Concours d'Elegance, prior to crossing the block, by kind permission of the event organizers.
Estimate: US$150,000 - 200,000
Bonhams Auction at: Fairfield Concours d'Elegance, Exceptional Collectors' Motorcars and Automobilia, 17 Sep 2011 to 18 Sep 2011, Connecticut, Westport
Info: www.bonhams.com
August 28, 2011
For those of you who have one of those fancy phones with Apps (I really do not hav a clue myself, I'm just not that advanced!):
There is a Bugatti App, including prices and type info, useful in case you stumble upon a lost Bugatti somewhere on the French countryside! It is the:
Bugatti Classic Car App 2011/2012 by COPiNOS.
The app for easy reference to current values, specifications and photos of 46 classic Bugatti's (1909 - 1956).
Go to: nl.appbrain.com/app/bugatti-classic-car-app/com.copinos.android.man.bugatti, it's Free!
August 25, 2011
The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2011 was held Sunday, August 21st at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. More than 200 cars and motorcycles lined the 18th hole of the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links for the 61st annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, with a total of 29 classes in 2011 including feature and special classes.
Best of Show was awarded to the 1934 Voisin C-25 Aerodyne of Peter Mullin of Los Angeles. The unique Voisin features a 3-liter sleeve-valve type motor with two carburetors developing 100 hp, resulting in a top speed of over 85 mph.
Prizes for Bugattis:
Class J-3 European Classic – 1938 through 1939
1st 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C Figoni & Falaschi Coupé
Richard Stephens, Auburn, California
2nd 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante
Keith Anderson, New York City, New York
3rd 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Gangloff Cabriolet
The Off Bros. Collection – Bill Johnston & Ron Elenbaas, Richland, Michigan
Chairman’s Trophy
1923 Bugatti Type 23 Brescia Lavocat et Marsaud
Giuseppe Redaelli, Varese, Italy
Elegance in Motion Trophy
1938 Bugatti Type 57C Gangloff Cabriolet
The Off Bros. Collection – Bill Johnston & Ron Elenbaas, Richland, Michigan
August 25, 2011 The Aerolithe project is nearing completion. Despite the many difficulties David Grainger and his team encountered, they managed to build the beautiful Aerolithe coachwork on the significant earliest Type 57 chassis 57104.
Building the car itself inch by inch has given valuable insight into the original. What appear in the photo's as small black shadows and irregular lumps now have meaning to David an his team, as their car replicates these same irregularities as the build continues. As an instance, they know that the car had a standard exhaust system with single downturn as the profiles now match perfectly.
As you can see the car has now been painted, and is ready for final assembly.
RM Auctions, Sports & Classics, Monterey (USA), August 19-20, 2011:
1937 Bugatti Type 57 Roadster by Ramseier-Worblaufen Chassis No. 57260; Estimate: $1,000,000-$1,300,000, Sold for $990,000
1938 Bugatti Type 57 Stelvio Chassis No. 57569; Estimate: $700,000-$800,000, Sold for $693,000
1937 Bugatti Type 57C Ventoux Chassis No. 57664; Estimate: $600,000-$750,000, Sold for $797,500
1950 Bugatti Type 101 Coupe by Van Antem, Chassis No. 101504; Estimate: $600,000-$800,000, Sold for $616,000
Thanks to: Christophe Chanterault
August 18-19, 2011 Bonhams' Quail Lodge Sale USA
1930 Bugatti Type 43 Supercharged Sports 2/4 Seater: Chassis no. 43286, Engine no. 133, Estimate: US$1,300,000 - 1,500,000 : NOT SOLD
August 18-20, 2011 Mecum Auctions, The Daytime Auction, Monterey USA
1937 Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux Coupe #57345: Sold for $350,000
1925 Bugatti Brescia Type 23 Roadster: Sold for $230,000
Results for the RM Auction coming soon (hopefully).
BugattiPage is the first to present pictures of the final, finished automobile!
The Bella Figura Type 57S Coupe is described in more detail a little bit below on this same page, the fully painted version is now ready, and will be presented at various of the Pebble Beach events.
Below the engine bay with V12 (no straigh-8)
August 6, 2011 2013 Bugatti Galibier 16C, a 1000 HP sedan, was first shown as a concept in 2010. At that time we knew very few details about this car. In 2010 we some rumors said that when this car will hit the production line, will cost about $1.4 million and it will use a 16-cylinder engine that can run on both biofuel and gasoline. We also knew that this luscious limousine will bring back the dual-clutch gearbox and it will get a hybrid option.
Now Bugatti President Wolfgang Dürheimer has revealed new details about the 2013 Galibier 16C, also known as “Royale” and maybe that will be it's definitive name, in an interview with German magazine Auto Motor und Sport.
It seems that some rumors were right. 2013 Bugatti Galibier 16C will be outfitted with a sixteen-cylinder engine producing between 800hp and 1,000hp and even if it seems hard to believe, a hybrid version will be available. Dürheimer said that the expected “leader” in the luxury segment will have a series of 500 to 1,500 units. Also the initial speculated price was almost confirmed by the German executive, who hinted a price tage of more than € 1,000,000, but the official price tag has not been set.
The production version will be ready in the Fall of 2012. Dürheimer also stated that the Galibier will indeed be a Hybrid, capable of driving on Electricity alone for approximately 40km, so you can drive out of the street in the morning without waking your meighbours with a Screaming W16 engine. .
August 3, 2011 Really unknown Bugattis are more and more scarce, but they are still out there. Bonham`s web site was presenting a true barnfind on their website, though it now is unavailable. Update: back on the site, go to: www.bonhams.com
It is announced that in their Beaulieu auction on September 10, 2011 they feature a barnfind T57.
Info on the car:
This Bugatti Type 57, chassis number '57380', was previously registered to a M. Demarest in France ('1252 DX 75') for which there are old tax 'discs' from 1959 through 1962. The car's next owner was a doctor, who was followed by Guy Martin (son of Le Mans racer Charles Martin) and then the current owner in 1983. (The current owner's wife is Guy Martin's niece). Although he intended to, the vendor never got around to restoring the Bugatti, which remains very complete and original but in need of a full mechanical restoration at the very least. The brakes are binding and the engine is said to turn over but not run; the body though, is in quite good condition, as the 'suicide' doors close very easily and properly. There is some rodent damage to the rear of the interior, which otherwise is generally not too bad. Believed off the road since circa 1968 and sold strictly as viewed, this exciting Bugatti 'barn find' comes with the aforementioned tax records, French Carte Grise and Attestation d'Assurance (1960).
Pictures are of '57380' as discovered by Bonhams in a village on the outskirts of Paris
Estimate: £40,000 - 50,000, € 46,000 - 57,000. No Reserve
Editor's comment: This must be the Bugatti (and an original one!) with the lowest estimate since a decade! My glass globe tell's me that the car will reach a price closer to the higher estimate....
The Lustrerie Mathieu chandelier company invites the public to discover its savoir-faire through an original exhibition that combines the owner’s two passions: chandeliers and classic collector cars.
There is a catalogue (for those who do not go), available online: Lumières sur Bugatti - book
With always some 7 - 10 Bugattis, on the stand organised by Jean Prick, dedicated to Bugatti alone.
This year also: a Bugatti T50 Coupe Million Guiet
January 20-21, 2012 The Scottsdale auction Scottsdale, USAOn offer: 1928 Bugatti Type 38 Tourer, body by J. Figoni
Estimate: $500,000 - $650,000
More information: www.goodingco.com
RETROMOBILE opens its doors for the 37th consecutive year, this time for 5 days in Hall 2/2, Hall 2/3 and Hall 3, providing even more space and facilities for over 350 exhibitors and promising a whole host of surprises for an estimated 90,000 visitors from all over the world.
The first major fair of the year, this thrilling annual auto show will, once again, be a showcase for a range of facinating displays and special events – so be sure not to miss RETROMOBILE!
10 cars from the Peter Mullin collection will be on show, with at least 2 Bugattis: The ex-Peter Williamson T57S(C) Atlantic, and a Type 46.
February 2, 2012 The Paris Sale, Bonhams Paris, France
Lot No: 221
1921 Bugatti Type 23 Brescia
Chassis no. 1339
Engine no. 911
Chassis number '1339' has the 1,453cc engine and is almost certainly unique among Brescia Bugattis as it has a continuous history of Swiss ownership that has been well documented over the years. The car was supplied new to Hr Jules Friedlander in 1921 and originally was fitted with coachwork in 'torpedo' style and rear wheel brakes only. Hr Friedlander used the car extensively, records showing that he and the Bugatti ventured well beyond the Swiss borders.
The car's next owner was a Hr. Leuenberger, proprietor of a hosiery factory in Marzili, Bern, who altered the bodywork to two-seater configuration and (probably) fitted the later, braked front axle. In 1954 the Type 23 changed hands again, on this occasion passing to Mr Charles Pochon. There are various items of Type 23-related literature on file together with documents relating to Mr Pochon's ownership, including a copy of a Bugatti Register entry stating that 'the front axle and the front wheel brakes are from an Amilcar'. >{? One year after Pochon's death in 1992 the car was acquired by Mr Peter Jost, its condition at that time being described as 'more wrong than right.' Working from original photographs, Mr Jost decided to recreate the original bodywork as part of a complete 'last nut and bolt' rebuild. The latter included re-forging the leaf springs, completely reupholstering the interior, making and fitting a new hood and its mechanism, and replacing the old pressurised tank fuel feed with an electric pump. F Rolli undertook the mechanical aspects of the rebuild while construction of the bodywork was entrusted to R Grubenmann. The car still has front-wheel brakes so it would appear that either the Amilcar axle was retained or a later, braked Bugatti axle fitted. (It is expected that clarification will have been obtained by time of sale). Now finished in Burgundy and black with magnolia leather interior, this superb motor car displays all the elegance of the period.
The oldest Bugatti currently registered for the road in Switzerland, '1339' has featured in several specialist books on the marque and represents a unique opportunity to acquire a well known and equally well documented Brescia with Swiss title.
Estimate: €100,000 - 140,000
Lot No: 256
1928 Bugatti Type 35B Re-creation by Pur Sang
Chassis no. "4878"
Reported to drive excellently, the car is particularly interesting as it is road registered in the Netherlands as a Bugatti Type 35B and comes with the relevant documents.
Estimate: €180,000 - 240,000
Also various smaller Bugatti items on sale.
More info: www.bonhams.com
More information: www.ibr2012.nl
" La Coupe du Centenaire" is a weekend in memory of the Grand Prix de Boulogne and the Coupe Boillot taking place from 29th June to the 1st July : a rally on the coast, gymkhana and demonstrations in the famous and luxury sea resort.
Details and program are available on : www.alfabugattimeeting.fr
I can be reached by email at J.J.Horst@BugattiPage.com.
