A very impressive auction during the Pebble Beach week. And, there are for the French pre-war car enthusiast a lot of interesting automobiles like, apart from Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye, Hispano-Suiza, Talbot Lago. Among those Icons like the 1937 Delage D8-120 Coach Aérosport by Letourneur et Marchand, a 1937 Delage D8-120 S Aerodynamic Coupe by Pourtout, a 1937 Delahaye 145 Cabriolet by Franay, a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C Competition Roadster by Figoni et Falaschi, a 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Coupe by Figoni et Falaschi, a 1939 Delage D8-120 S Coupe by Letourneur et Marchand, a 1947 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Cabriolet by Figoni et Falaschi or a 1948 Delahaye 135 MS Cabriolet by Faget Varnet. But also one of the 50 1948 Tucker Torpedo's, a 1999 Vector SRV8 or a 1988 Cizeta-Moroder V16T.
More info: rmsothebys.com/auctions/mo26/lots/
- 1927 Bugatti Type 37A Grand Prix, Chassis no. 37270, Engine no. 172, Estimate $800,000 - $1,100,000
- 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante, Chassis no. 57551, Estimate $4,500,000 - $6,000,000
- 1938 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet by D'Ieteren, Chassis no. 57589, Engine no. 464, Estimate
$900,000 - $1,500,000
This car was auctioned at RM Sotheby's Amelia Island auction in 2020, and then fetched $1,655,000. I sincerely doubt if it will attain a similar price now, 6 years later.
- 1938 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante by Gangloff, Chassis no. 57633, Engine no. 463, Estimate $1,500,000 - $1,800,000
- 1939 Bugatti Type 57C Cabriolet in the style of Corsica, Chassis no. 57838, Engine no. 105C, Estimate
$650,000 - $750,000
- 1993 Bugatti EB110 GT, Chassis No. ZA9AB01E0PCD39040, Estimate $1,750,000 - $2,250,000
- 2008 Bugatti Veyron 16.4, Chassis No. VF9SA25C08M795202, Estimate $1,500,000 - $2,000,000
- 2019 Bugatti Chiron Sport, Chassis No. VF9SP3V39KM795176, Estimate $3,000,000 - $3,500,000
- 2025 Bugatti Mistral, Chassis No. VF9SM3V3XSM795096, Estimate $7,500,000 - $9,500,000
Many photographs by Darrin Schnabel
1927 Bugatti Type 37A Grand Prix, Chassis no. 37270, Engine no. 172
The Bugatti Type 37A was introduced in early 1927 as a further development of the successful Type 35 platform, adding supercharged induction to the Type 37’s 1.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine. Built in a modest quantity of just 75 examples, which were largely sold to preferred racing clients, the Type 37A was very successful in voiturette class competition, demonstrating the continued longevity of Ettorre Bugatti’s groundbreaking design.
Claiming a well-documented chain of dedicated caretakers, a short and accident-free competition career, and a very early position in the Type 37A build sequence, this extraordinary grand prix Bugatti is a particularly desirable example of Molsheim’s accomplished racing model. According to the research of marque expert Pierre-Yves Laugier, chassis number 37270 is just the second car built (by chassis number), being one of five examples ordered new by the Turin-based Bugatti agent Alberto Musy.
Further information from the respected American Bugatti Register confirms the Type 37A was built in April 1927, equipped with wire wheels and small drum brakes, and clothed in “2p carrosserie torpedo” grand prix-style racing coachwork. In June 1927 the Bugatti was delivered to its first owner, Edouard Garagnani of Milan, and was first registered on 8 June. As one of the earliest 37A examples delivered to Italy, it may have participated in racing events including the Bologna Grand Prix held later that month.
In July 1929 the Bugatti was re-registered in Sicily, and it was probably driven by Angelo Giusti in three local events between May 1928 and May 1929, including a class win and 2nd overall finish at the Coppa Etna. In November 1930 the Type 37A was registered to Salvatore Scuderi of Catania, and he campaigned the car at the 1929 Syracuse Grand Prix and the Catane-Zaferrana event in October 1931.
In May 1932 the Bugatti passed to Santi Di Pasquale, a shopkeeper in Messina. After briefly selling the roadster to Francesco La Rosa, Mr. Di Pasquale re-acquired the car in May 1934, and it remained with him in Sicily through December 1959, constituting a 25-year period of ownership.
In 1967 the Bugatti was discovered by Francesco Santoveti at Franco Venturi’s famed Alfa Romeo dealership in Rome, and the car was quickly sold to art collector and Bugattiste Adrien Maeght of Paris. The Type 37A then enjoyed a return to the limelight as a hero car in the critically acclaimed 1973 French-Italian satire La Grande Bouffe (La Grande Abbuffata), in which it was driven by the renowned actor Marcello Mastroianni.
In 1986 the Molsheim speed machine was sold to California resident Tom Perkins, and he commissioned a full restoration by the renowned specialists Crosthwaite & Gardiner in Buxted, UK. This work included replacement of the wire wheels with racing-style aluminum wheels with larger drum brakes. Traded 10 years later to David Clark in exchange for a McLaren F1, the Type 37A was enjoyed at the 1997 Monaco Historic races. Briefly acquired then by Michael Johnson of Northern Ireland, the car was next sold to Robert Marceca of New York City.
In August 2001 the Bugatti was offered at RM Auctions’ flagship Monterey sale, where it was acquired by a well-known marque collector based in New Jersey. Following the owner’s untimely passing just a month later, the Type 37A passed to his widow, who has dutifully domiciled the car ever since. During this extended ownership, the Bugatti has experienced very little use or exhibition, notably being presented at the 2017 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance, and being driven in a small handful of rallies.
According to Mr. Laugier, this Type 37A remains overwhelmingly original, with a vast majority of the factory mechanical components still being equipped, including the matching-numbers engine, frame number, gearbox casing, rear axle, crankcases, and blower. While small portions of the coachwork have been faithfully re-created, the bonnet and tail are believed to be entirely original, as is the brass chassis plate. Noting how rare it is for the original mechanical components to be in place and in such good condition, Laugier further stresses that 37270 is the oldest, most original example of a Type 37A remaining in existence.
1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante, Chassis no. 57551
THE INCOMPARABLE TYPE 57S: BUGATTI’S MASTERPIECE
The Paris Auto Salon of October 1936 saw the introduction of a revised second-series version of Bugatti’s elegant Type 57, but also, more significantly, uprated sporting variants, the 57C and the 57S. While the former featured a supercharged engine, the latter was a true purpose-built, high-performance, competition-oriented automobile, with so many differences from the stock 57 that it was, in effect, an entirely distinct model.
Each Type 57S was constructed upon a chassis that was wholly re-engineered to be both shorter and lower—hence S, for surbaissé or “lowered.” The front axle was articulated in halves, and the rear axle passed through the frame rather than under it, creating a lower overall stance. Carried on this sophisticated drivetrain was a specially tuned version of the 3.3-liter eight-cylinder engine, with a higher 8.5:1 compression ratio, a dry sump accommodating the car’s lowered center of gravity, and magneto-driven ignition, as well as a low radiator with a handsome vee’d grille shell in the classic Bugatti motif.
In an era when every automaker sought to make their cars look fast and sleek beyond their performance capabilities, the Type 57S delivered on its appearance in every regard. In the model’s first 12 months of existence in 1936, examples won the French Grand Prix, La Marne Grand Prix, and Comminges Grand Prix, followed the subsequent year by a quartet of victories at Pau, Bone, La Marne, and Le Mans. Type 57S chassis set records in no fewer than 14 different events, including a speed average of 85.07 mph at Le Mans. It was, by no exaggeration, a supercar of its era.
With the sales of the more “stock” 57 and 57C chassis flourishing in the late 1930s, Bugatti eventually came to view the Type 57S as surplus to their needs, and quietly discontinued the model in May of 1938. Only 42 examples were built to this ultimate specification, with 17 bodied as Jean Bugatti’s Atalante, with its distinctive rounded roofline and “notchback” tail. On a stock Type 57 the Atalante was aggressively beautiful; on the 57S, slinkily lowered to the ground with its fenders thrust nearly level with its beating heart, it was almost wicked.
For beauty, for power, for sheer glory—nothing could quite compare.
CHASSIS NUMBER 57551: THE MILLER’S ATALANTE
Type 57S chassis number 57551 was built as an Atalante with the distinctive lowered headlights, akin to the Paris show car, and delivered to Jean Lévy, scion of a prominent Strasbourg family that owned one of the area’s largest mills. Lévy took delivery of his 57S directly from the factory, both because he lived very near the Bugatti compound in Molsheim, and because he was already an established customer; his Type 57 Stelvio was exchanged for the new car in July of 1937.
The Atalante was still with its original owner and, it can be presumed, scarcely used, when World War II arrived. Lévy fled to the United States, where he had wisely acquired a few mills to continue his business, with the Bugatti remaining behind at his farm in the Dordogne. It was re-registered to his friend Maurice Weber, manager of the livestock feed operation at the Lévy mill, in 1941. Following the war’s conclusion, the car was brought to Paris and sold there to Pierre Pruvost of Bezons; in the process the original engine was exchanged for 15 S, from car number 57492, restamped 30 S as original for this chassis. In this form, according to Bernhard Simon and Julius Kruta’s book, The Bugatti Type 57S, the car was sold in 1948 to the noted artist and Bugattiste, André Derain. In 1952 it passed to Monique Weyemer of Nice, and finally through that city’s Bugatti dealer Ernest Friderich to Jean Louis Fatio of Switzerland in 1957.
In 1959 the car was sold by the auspices of musician and amateur Bugatti broker Robert “Bob” Baer to Colin Doane, a US Air Force Officer. Doane brought the Atalante across the Atlantic and drove it 3,000 miles over two years, including a 500-mile trip from Boston to Watkins Glen, before selling it in 1961 to Harrah’s Automobile Collection of Nevada. Harrah’s was at the time fully flowering into what it eventually became, the largest and most complete collection of vintage cars in the United States, renowned for the standards set by its in-house restoration facility. Recognizing that longtime friend O.A. “Bunny” Phillips’s Rosemead, California, shop was more of a specialist at these cars than his own shop, however, Bill Harrah commissioned Phillips to begin the Atalante’s mechanical restoration. Work had not progressed far when the car was moved out of the way of other Harrah projects that took priority.
In the early 1970s, work resumed anew, and the car was completed with a supercharger added to its engine, bringing it to the ultimate 57SC specification, and in a rather bold combination of hues dubbed Patrol Cream and Lemon Oxide. The result was a showstopper, in a very literal sense. In 1976 it was awarded Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Bill Harrah’s fourth and final victory at the August event, only a year before his passing. Early in the next decade it was prominently featured in Dean Batchelor’s book, Harrah’s Automobile Collection, which pictures it both in the process of restoration and as completed, and further details Harrah’s history with the Bugatti.
The Atalante remained in Harrah’s Automobile Collection until 1987, when it was sold to biotechnology pioneer Dr. Herbert Boyer of California, then building a small but impressive collection of his own. It remained with Dr. Boyer until 2000, when it was acquired by Jim Patterson for his own burgeoning stable.
Mr. Patterson exhibited the car in his collection for over a decade, occasionally displaying it at concours, still in its striking Harrah’s restoration. However, it eventually became clear that the restoration, while always a crowd-pleaser and very high-quality for its time, was not quite to the evolved modern standards that such an extraordinary automobile demanded. Modifications had been made to the tail in early ownership, and these had been preserved by Harrah’s; similarly, the headlights had been modified several times from their original configuration. Inspection of photographs of the car, published in Kruta’s book and in other sources, showed how the car had originally appeared and should be configured, including a photo from Lévy’s ownership with the proper headlight design.
With these in hand, RM Auto Restoration of Blenheim, Ontario, took on a fresh restoration of the Atalante to a modern standard of correctness and authenticity. Having restored other examples of this significant chassis, RM was well-equipped to handle the job in a sensitive manner. As much originality as possible was preserved, including, significantly, much of the original body wood, including the entire framework of the tail section. The body was carefully returned to the original configuration and design throughout, matching period photographs, and finished in a very subtle livery of black and deep green with pigskin interior. At completion, the car was debuted at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2014, and, 38 years after its original victory, received the J.B. Nethercutt Trophy as Most Elegant Closed Car.
The Type 57SC Atalante is presented today still in concours condition, carefully maintained within The Jim Patterson Collection to the standards it deserves. It is accompanied by a thoroughly impressive history file, including copies of its features in several prominent Bugatti books and registers over the years, photographs of the RM restoration, and a copy of its Harrah’s Automobile Collection acquisition and restoration file—enormously detailed and well worth reviewing.
It can be inarguably said that the Type 57S was, from a development standpoint, the ultimate Bugatti—and chassis number 57551, through its carefully documented history, meticulous conservation, and careful restoration, has been, for every moment of its life, appreciated for exactly that. It is an exquisite creation.
1938 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet by D'Ieteren, Chassis no. 57589, Engine no. 464
CHASSIS NUMBER 57589: THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY
In 1938, Jean Bugatti and Molsheim bodywork leader Joseph Walter penned a new open Type 57, dubbed the Aravis in a nod to an Alpine mountain range, with a two-passenger interior, sharply raked windscreen, and a dramatically sloped tail with a small central dorsal fin. Construction was delegated to Gangloff’s coachworks in Colmar, and it is believed that no more than 12 examples were built, with just three remaining in existence. Considering, however, that Type 57s were also sold as rolling chassis to be clothed by the customer’s chosen coachbuilder, it is little surprise that several additional cars were built to specifications that aped the factory-contracted Aravis - imitation, of course, was and is the sincerest form of flattery.
Chassis number 57589, offered here, was completed at Molsheim in September 1937 and delivered in March 1938 to the revered Belgian coachbuilder D’Ieteren on behalf of a customer named Baggage, with a special notice for “urgent delivery.” Only four Type 57s were ordered with D’Ieteren coachwork in 1938, but this would be the only example finished in this Aravis-inspired style, developed with significant input from the impatient Monsieur Baggage himself. The customer was particularly tall, resulting in the somewhat stretched proportions of the cabin, sheltered by roll-up windows and a streamlined, folding canvas top that was particularly low and sleek in either the raised or lowered position. It was and remains a stunning automobile, with a truly elegant and distinguished character.
Monsieur Baggage used his extraordinary Bugatti for nearly two years, before the German invasion of 1940 compelled him to hide it. The exact history of the car over the next decade is currently lost in the fog of war. Sometime after the conclusion of hostilities, the Type 57 resurfaced, and was offered by the French government as a “Vente des Domaines” and sold in late May 1951 to an industrial company in Paris. It passed through the hands of two different Parisian magnates, then in early 1952 to marque specialist Gaston Docime, who sold it that May to André Derain, the famed Fauvist painter and early Bugatti collector. Derain owned as many as 14 important Bugattis over his lifetime. Chassis number 57589 was the last, truly the crowning acquisition of a passionate Bugattiste.
Docime bought back the Bugatti from his client in December 1956, and sold it the following year to the well-known dealer Jean de Dobbeleer. De Dobbeleer sold the car through his frequent collaborator Gene Cesari to the highly regarded American enthusiast Julian Sano. Robert Wells of Akron, Ohio, purchased the Bugatti from Sano in 1963 and would keep it for 35 years. During that time, it was occasionally shown at American Bugatti Club events.
In 2004 the Type 57 was purchased by Alfred Lechter of Jean, Nevada, in whose ownership it received expert attention by marque specialist Jim Stranberg, and was shown at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It was sold the following year to Greek collector Theodore Angelopoulos, who had it regularly maintained by Swiss specialists over the next five years.
In September 2015 the Bugatti was acquired by a respected Florida-based collector. The car was examined for him by noted specialist Scott Sargent, who noted that the Type 57 retained numerous original components and details, such as the firewall and remnants of original paint on the undercarriage that lent the car a definitive and irreplaceable authenticity. Consequently, to retain the utmost originality, it was decided to limit any restoration to cosmetic considerations and service of the original mechanical components as needed. The interior and top were retrimmed, while the unique coachwork was refinished in a very attractive and distinctive two-tone scheme of black with maroon details.
The Bugatti has been fastidiously maintained during their conservatorship while being presented and driven at select events, including the ABC Maine Fall Rally in September 2016, the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in May 2018, and the Audrain Newport Concours in October 2019, where it won the Bugatti Touring Class. In early 2020 it was sold to Ray and Bonnie Kinney, and has remained one of the great centerpieces of their collection ever since, with excellent care including an engine rebuild by the noted Leydon Restorations that will be completed this spring.
This exceptional car retains most of its original factory components, including its twin-cam straight-eight engine, the original chassis frame, and the exquisitely sculpted D’Ieteren coachwork, a genuinely one-off design inspired by one of the factory’s finest creations. It is documented with restoration invoices from Jim Stranberg, Pichler, and Scott Sargent over its prior ownerships, as well as various historical documents. Most striking of all are a D’Ieteren photo album, including period images, and sets of both tools and unrestored original luggage.
Continually maintained by devoted owners, this Bugatti Type 57 offers an unbeatable combination of tempting attributes—extraordinarily beautiful and unique original design, well-known and fascinating history with great collectors, and the outstanding purity that comes from having been always kept by enthusiasts who were wise enough to preserve originality where they found it and make improvements elsewhere. It is a fabulous Bugatti in every regard.
1938 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante by Gangloff, Chassis no. 57633, Engine no. 463
In the world of Bugatti, names matter, and when you say Atalante, people instantly recognize that magnificent shape. – S.M.
They do indeed. Atalante, to the Bugattiste, means a raked windshield that rises to a sweep of a roof that curves back on itself, above a tautly pulled, angled tail flanked by the round curves of torpedo-like fenders, and bodywork set off by the cut of a two-tone color scheme. Yet just as each artist’s fingertips draw different sounds from a piano, no two renditions of the Atalante were precisely the same, and some emerged more exceptional than others.
It is worth noting that in the hyper-specific world of Bugatti, only the factory-bodied examples of the design were officially dubbed Atalante; those bodied independently by Gangloff were recorded as faux cabriolets or simply as coupes. Chassis number 57633 is one of the latter, and yet its design is clearly an Atalante. It is a one-off variant, however, commissioned to the fine taste and specification of original owner Fernand Crouzet, proprietor of a large leather factory in Labastide-Rouairoux, Tarn, who eventually owned three Type 57s—one for himself, and another for each of two very fortunate sons. The chassis was delivered to Gangloff in February 1938, and construction of the body took an additional two months.
Examination of the car’s profile shows how Crouzet worked with Gangloff to achieve exactly what he sought. The windshield was moved very subtly forward, by only about three inches, sufficient to provide a more delicately curved roofline, ample legroom for even a taller driver, and additional ample luggage space aft of the two seats. Further, long rear fenders were requested, complementing the spare recessed into the rear deck and a large single-piece rear window, again in the interest of making a usable and functional automobile appropriate for grand touring. Mr. Crouzet specifically chose the instrumentation used on supercharged cars, while special disc-style wheel covers and bumpers were the final ornamental touches. Similar to the Gable Duesenberg in the Mann collection, the result is a clear reflection of both its original owner’s connoisseurship and of his eye for solid design.
Chassis number 57633 remained with the Crouzet family until June of 1941, when it was sold to Pierre Vidal of Toulouse. It was sold again in Paris around 1943, and subsequently refurbished by the Parisian Bugatti facility, and in 1947 put into use by the French Government at their embassy in London! Subsequently, it was sold and passed through a succession of private hands, including early enthusiast J.G.H. Carter.
In 1955, the car was purchased by the well-known automotive author Kenneth Ulyett, who used it regularly until his death in 1977. It was sold from his estate in 1987, and eventually acquired by a Japanese collector who shortly passed it in 2003 to J. Peter Ministrelli of Michigan. Mr. Ministrelli took on the challenge of a meticulous, ground-up, fresh restoration, undertaken by the noted Brian Joseph of Classic & Exotic Service in Troy, Michigan. Many of the small parts for the project were acquired during two trips to Rétromobile in Paris, while exhaustive research was also performed into the car’s equipment and finishes.
With the engine and drivetrain properly rebuilt in prior ownership by the great California firm of Hill & Vaughn—led by the legendary champion racing driver and superb mechanic Phil Hill—all that was required was new hand-scraping on the aluminum castings for the cam and timing gears; the original scraping pattern was traced by pencil and recreated from the pattern by Dave Barron. An extremely detailed article, published in the Michigan Region CCCA’s Torque magazine, is included in the car’s history file and further details the meticulous craftsmanship and the intense amount of fine detail work that went into its restoration.
At its completion in a magnificent livery of black and aubergine, the Bugatti debuted at the 2005 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, finishing in its class behind only an original Talbot-Lago “teardrop” coupe. It subsequently won its class at Amelia Island in 2006, and scored 99.5 points at the Michigan Region Grand Classic later that year. Late in 2006, the Bugatti was sold by Mr. Ministrelli at auction to benefit Beaumont Hospital, a favorite subject of his philanthropic efforts. It was acquired by David Wooley of England, next passing in 2007 to the Roberts family, with whom it would be held and much-enjoyed for 14 years.
Longtime Bugatti owners and enthusiasts, Sam and Emily Mann, were very happy to acquire their latest Type 57 from the Roberts family in 2020. It has remained much-enjoyed in the collection since, occasionally taken out for shows as well as for driving events, and has been nicely upkept to the Manns’ high standards, with only minor signs of age and use to its superb Joseph restoration.
The car is accompanied by an exhaustive report completed by Mark Morris of Independent Bugatti Consultants, including numerous images, detailed documents, and analysis of the car’s numbers and history, and by marvelous historic photographs of the Bugatti in its early ownership by the Crouzet family. The Morris report notes that the car retains its original chassis plate and all major mechanical components, save the gearbox lid (the case, significantly, is the original); the number has been polished off the front axle during plating, but it, too, is believed to be original. Thoroughly laudatory, the report, recommended reading for prospective buyers, even comments on the car’s correct rubber pedal pads!
Few Bugattis have as much to recommend them as this exceptional car, which represents the height of the marque’s design and engineering excellence, as a one-off and especially elegant variant of the iconic Atalante, and the fine result of a lifetime spent with true connoisseurs, the Manns not least among them.
As I get older and the world gets noisier, I found that I enjoy driving this car much more than my Type 57SC Atalante—it is smoother, quieter, and furnishes ample power for traveling on road or track. The space behind the seat can carry all our luggage, and our granddaughter in her car seat—a true family sports car! – S.M.
1939 Bugatti Type 57C Cabriolet in the style of Corsica, Chassis no. 57838, Engine no. 105C
Perhaps no Bugatti is as widely celebrated as the Type 57, the immensely popular touring model spearheaded by Ettore Bugatti’s son, Jean. Many later Type 57 examples were fitted with a supercharger to result in the more powerful 57C iteration, which accounted for approximately 103 examples. Mechanically advanced, and often clothed in artfully styled individual coachwork, the Type 57C was undeniably one of the interwar period’s most dynamic luxury-performance automobiles, as this fine example ably attests.
According to Bugatti factory sales records, chassis number 57838 is the fourth-from-last Type 57 built, having been invoiced on 28 July 1939, less than five weeks before the outbreak of World War II. It is the final car in the log to show any delivery details, being sold to the British importer Col. Sorel’s agency on Brixton Road as a bare chassis without coachwork.
As corroborated by the respected American Bugatti Register, the chassis was dispatched to the renowned coachbuilder Vanden Plas for the mounting of a two-door four-seat roadster body that was finished in ivory paint with contrasting black fenders. The Bugatti was then registered with tags reading “DWW 222” in late September 1939.
While the Type 57C’s history during the war currently remains unknown, it likely saw relatively little use, given the petrol shortages common throughout wartime Britain. After the war, the Bugatti was owned by the famed shipping magnate and car collector Maj. Edward G. Thomson, and he may very well have been the car’s original purchaser. Later to be more widely recognized for his sponsorship of the Le Mans-winning Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type teams, Maj. Thomson ran 57838 at a sand-racing event in St. Andrews, Scotland, by the early 1950s.
In 1970, after approximately three decades of owning the Type 57C, Maj. Thomson sold his entire collection. The Bugatti was next acquired by Rodney Clarke of Guilford, and he soon sold the car to a former business partner named Leonard Potter. As the original coachwork had substantially deteriorated by this time, Mr. Potter commissioned Keith Bowley of Ashton Keynes Vintage Restorations to build a new body in the style of the well-known Tourist Trophy-winning Corsica-bodied roadster, chassis number 57326.
After a period of ownership by Peter Harper of Stretton, the Bugatti was sold in 1980 to the Massachusetts-based enthusiast Byron White and exported to the US. Ten years later, the 57C was acquired by the respected collector Oscar Davis, and he retained possession through his passing in 2021, concluding a remarkable 31-year period of single-owner care. During this time, 57838 was treated to a bevy of restoration work, including a multi-year mechanical refurbishment by Leydon Restorations completed circa 2004.
In the latter half of the 2000s, Mr. Davis retained the esteemed DL George Historic Motorcars to construct the current cabriolet body, which features a sublime pastiche of design cues more commonly associated with Corsica (chassis number 57593) and Bertelli (chassis number 57316). The coachwork is highlighted by a steeply raked split windscreen, teardrop-shaped pontoon fenders, cut-down doors, and a tapered rear end; and it was then cosmetically completed with an arresting finish of deep red paint over a tan leather interior, which is complemented by an elegant wood dash panel. Although the Bugatti remained largely domiciled during his ownership, Mr. Davis occasionally enjoyed driving the car, including participation in the 2010 International Bugatti Rally in California.
In August 2022, the Type 57C was offered by Mr. Davis’ estate and acquired by the consignor. Over the past four years, the cabriolet has been dutifully maintained and minimally driven, while being presented at a small handful of premium events, including the 2023 
Audrain Newport Concours d’Elegance (where it won a class award) and the 2024 ModaMiami.
It is important to note that chassis number 57838 features an engine stamping consistent with factory data, demonstrating that the car retains its matching-numbers supercharged engine. As one of the last cars built, this Type 57C is also equipped with the developmental advances made through the model’s lifespan, including the stronger second-series frame, the supercharged engine, and the hydraulic brakes and telescoping shock absorbers common to third-series cars.
Ideal for presentation at regional concours d’elegance or enjoyment on vintage tours, this beautifully restored and presented Bugatti is a singularly unique coachbuilt example that would highlight any collection. It abounds in some of the interwar period’s most sensational styling cues, offering a brilliant testament to Jean Bugatti’s legendary model.
1993 Bugatti EB110 GT, Chassis No. ZA9AB01E0PCD39040
When the Bugatti EB110 burst onto the stage at Versailles, Paris, a city long accustomed to spectacle, found itself momentarily eclipsed by a machine that seemed to belong more to tomorrow than to the close of the 20th century. Its glass-covered headlamps, impossibly low stance, and signature scissor doors projected an other-worldly aura for the reinvented Bugatti brand.
The marque’s return to production was itself a remarkable event. Dormant since 1952, the marque had eluded several revival attempts before Italian entrepreneur and Ferrari distributor Romano Artioli secured the rights in 1987. Determined to restore Bugatti to prominence, Artioli established a cutting-edge manufacturing facility in Campogalliano, placing the company in close proximity to Italy’s supercar elite.
Development of the EB110 began immediately, though not without complexity. Four years of intensive engineering culminated in a car that blended visionary design with formidable performance. Penned initially by Marcello Gandini—celebrated for the Miura, Countach, and Diablo—the design was later refined by architect Giampaolo Benedini. The result was a sharply angular, muscular evolution of the wedge-shaped supercar aesthetic. Following Gandini’s departure during the project’s early stages, Technical Director Nicola Materazzi assumed leadership, overseeing the transition to an advanced carbon fiber chassis and addressing critical durability concerns identified during testing.
The EB110 was finally unveiled on 15 September 1991, commemorating what would have been the 110th birthday of company founder, Ettore 
Bugatti. The final road-ready production car was named for the anniversary, officially termed the EB110 GT. The earliest cars were powered by a 3.5-liter, quad-turbocharged V-12 engine rated at 553 horsepower, working alongside a six-speed manual transmission. Official performance figures for the EB110 GT quoted a 0–60 mph time of just 3.4 seconds, with a top speed of a colossal 212.5 mph—one of few production cars of its era that could comfortably break the 200 mph barrier.
Despite early momentum and high-profile ownership—including Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher—the company soon faced financial strain. Artioli’s ambitious acquisition of Lotus, combined with a challenging global economic climate, contributed to Bugatti Automobili SpA ceasing operations in September 1995. In total, it is thought that just 139 EB110s were produced, including approximately 84 GT variants.
The example offered here was originally specified for delivery to Saudi Arabia, finished in Blu Bugatti over a Grigio Chiaro leather interior, as confirmed by a factory order summary dated 21 April 1993 and retained within the history file. Although destined for the Middle East, the car is understood to have remained in storage in the United Kingdom with some early mechanical issues subsequently addressed by Bugatti, supported by accompanying service documentation.
The EB110 was then exported to the United States before later returning to the United Kingdom, where it was registered with the DVLA in 
October 2004 as part of a prominent private collection. Offered at auction the following year, it was acquired by a Swiss collector who retained the car until 2012, after which it entered another significant collection. During this period of custodianship, the car was maintained by renowned specialists Joe Macari and H.R. Owen before joining its current prominent South Florida collection in 2022. Since then, it has continued to receive meticulous care and at the time of cataloguing, the odometer displayed just 11,505 kilometers (~7,149 miles).
At once a technological tour de force and a symbol of one of the most ambitious revivals in automotive history, the EB110 GT occupies a significant position within the modern supercar canon. This well-preserved and carefully documented example offers both formidable performance and a direct link to the re-emergence of the revered Bugatti marque.
Further info
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Broad Arrow the Quail Auction, California, USA, August 13 - 14, 2026 
RM Sotheby's the Monterey Auction, California, USA, August 13 - 15, 2026 
Gooding Christie's Pebble Beach Auctions, California, USA, August 14 - 15, 2026 
Bugatti: "The Final Race" to be directed by Camille Delamarre
"With Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati I told the story of the Italian obsession with speed," said Iervolino. "Bugatti is something else: It is art applied to an engine, a man who designed cars the way others carve sculpture, and who paid for that dream with the loss of his son."
The BUGATTI RALLY GP 2026 brings together Bugatti Grand Prix enthusiasts and their historic cars to the Czech Republic for an unforgettable week of rallying. Building on the success of the 2023 Bugatti Brescia Rally, which attracted 40 vehicles from 17 nationalities and earned the prestigious Pennant Award from the Bugatti Owners Club, this event celebrates the legendary Grand Prix racing heritage. 
As part of the centenary celebrations for the Bugatti Royale and the XLIII Bugatti Festival in Molsheim, as well as the programme we wish to organise for the occasion, we have decided to bring forward the date of the festival by one week to 3–6 September 2026.
