ETTORE BUGATTI
See also : French cars Old cars Cars of the 1930s Cars 1930-33 Cars 1937-39
Chronology : 1925 1931 1937
Chronology : 1925 1931 1937
1913 An Automobile made for an Aviator
2009 SOLD 2.5 M€ including premium
On 23 September 1913, Roland Garros was the first aviator to cross the Mediterranea. This glorious success is the achievement of his three years of passion for aviation.
At that time, between aviation and automobile, the difference is not very great. With one exception, however: luxury begins to reach the cars while it is not required for the aircrafts that only have to be functional.
Bonhams tells us that in this same year 1913 Ettore Bugatti had invited Roland Garros to visit his plant in Molsheim. There, the young aviator flashed for the latest model, the Type 18. He ordered a copy with coachwork by Labourdette, and he traveled several times to Alsace (with his faithful Morane-Saulnier aircraft) to monitor the progress of manufacturing.
This two-seater car, as sports as his first owner, is still in its original build, and is one of only three surviving copies of the Type 18. Known as Black Bess which was the name given by its second owner, it comes up for sale in Paris on February 7 after an almost centenarian career. Indeed this car was consistently present in specialized competitions and shows. It is estimated 1.3 million €.
Bonhams is organizing the sale during the Rétromobile exhibition, which is the principal Parisian meeting point for car fans.
POST SALE COMMENT
The fans love the beautiful cars, especially those that had a prestigious owner. Black Bess won the right, at € 2.5 million including expenses, to continue his remarkable career in the specialty shows.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Attribution : By Herranderssvensson [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
At that time, between aviation and automobile, the difference is not very great. With one exception, however: luxury begins to reach the cars while it is not required for the aircrafts that only have to be functional.
Bonhams tells us that in this same year 1913 Ettore Bugatti had invited Roland Garros to visit his plant in Molsheim. There, the young aviator flashed for the latest model, the Type 18. He ordered a copy with coachwork by Labourdette, and he traveled several times to Alsace (with his faithful Morane-Saulnier aircraft) to monitor the progress of manufacturing.
This two-seater car, as sports as his first owner, is still in its original build, and is one of only three surviving copies of the Type 18. Known as Black Bess which was the name given by its second owner, it comes up for sale in Paris on February 7 after an almost centenarian career. Indeed this car was consistently present in specialized competitions and shows. It is estimated 1.3 million €.
Bonhams is organizing the sale during the Rétromobile exhibition, which is the principal Parisian meeting point for car fans.
POST SALE COMMENT
The fans love the beautiful cars, especially those that had a prestigious owner. Black Bess won the right, at € 2.5 million including expenses, to continue his remarkable career in the specialty shows.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Attribution : By Herranderssvensson [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
1925 Bugatti for a Ziegfeld Girl
2017 SOLD for $ 3.3M including premium
The Bugatti 35 Grand Prix made a hit at its very first appearance in Lyon in 1924 when the first five cars of this type dominated the Grand Prix of the Automobile Club de France.
From a technological point of view the 35 offers a very light chassis and a streamlined body that is also simple and elegant. Its decisive advance compared to its competitors in endurance racing is the brake system specially designed to resist wear. In the opposite the weakness of the tires impairs the competition record.
The Bugatti Type 35 is a great commercial success. By supplying its wealthy customers with cars of the same performance as the factory engaged cars, Bugatti is a pioneer of the sports car. The 35 is a two-seater car in accordance with the regulations applicable to the Grand Prix of that period.
During the first year the brand produced only 16 Bugatti Type 35. In 1925 production accelerated.
A Bugatti 35 of the initial variant, sometimes identified as Bugatti 35 Lyon, was bought in 1925 in Paris by a wealthy American during his honeymoon with a former dancer from the Ziegfeld Follies. The car was used in competition by him with parsimony.
After more than 90 years, this Bugatti still has only three owners from new. Its originality and its condition are sensational for a car of that time. It is estimated $ 2.6M for sale by Gooding in Scottsdale on January 20, lot 022. Here is the link to the press release.
From a technological point of view the 35 offers a very light chassis and a streamlined body that is also simple and elegant. Its decisive advance compared to its competitors in endurance racing is the brake system specially designed to resist wear. In the opposite the weakness of the tires impairs the competition record.
The Bugatti Type 35 is a great commercial success. By supplying its wealthy customers with cars of the same performance as the factory engaged cars, Bugatti is a pioneer of the sports car. The 35 is a two-seater car in accordance with the regulations applicable to the Grand Prix of that period.
During the first year the brand produced only 16 Bugatti Type 35. In 1925 production accelerated.
A Bugatti 35 of the initial variant, sometimes identified as Bugatti 35 Lyon, was bought in 1925 in Paris by a wealthy American during his honeymoon with a former dancer from the Ziegfeld Follies. The car was used in competition by him with parsimony.
After more than 90 years, this Bugatti still has only three owners from new. Its originality and its condition are sensational for a car of that time. It is estimated $ 2.6M for sale by Gooding in Scottsdale on January 20, lot 022. Here is the link to the press release.
Excitement can be felt in the room as the exceptional, early-production 1925 #Bugatti #Type35 #GrandPrix takes the stage! #GCoAZ @Bugatti pic.twitter.com/XTo7FYsiTL
— Gooding & Company (@goodingandco) January 20, 2017
1931 Bugatti 41 La Royale coachworked by Kellner
1987 SOLD 5.5 M£ including premium by Christie's
The image is shared by Wikimedia with attribution : Arnaud 25 [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]
1931 Early Expectations for the Bugatti Type 51
2016 SOLD for $ 4M including premium
Introduced in 1924, the Bugatti Type 35 had been the king of the circuits. By cumulating works cars and private teams, it recorded no less than 2,000 wins within a few years.
At all times, an automobile supremacy is necessarily short lived. The technical progress of Alfa Romeo and Mercedes-Benz is forcing Bugatti to look for new solutions. It is too late. Despite some early successes, the new models Types 51, 53 and 54 introduced in 1931 and 1932 will not match the ambitions of the French brand.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the Miller 91 achieves great results in competition with its small supercharged engine reduced in volume to adapt to new rules, even at that time ! Bugatti indirectly obtains the Miller 91 patterns and creates its own Type 51 by plagiarizing the camshaft from its American competitor. The external features of the new car are almost unchanged from Type 35.
One of the first Bugatti Type 51 was sold in 1931 to Lord Howe, an outstanding personality of British motor racing who won in the same year the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a driving partnership with Henry Birkin on an Alfa Romeo 8C-2300.
Lord Howe intensely used his Bugatti Type 51, entering it four times at the Monaco Grand Prix. Tazio Nuvolari was once seen driving this car in the same time range, but only for practices. Lord Howe sold it in 1935. The later story is less glorious : the Bugatti overturned to kill its second owner in 1937.
Despite its rebuilding performed around its original chassis after the accident, Lord Howe's Bugatti remains one of the most desirable Type 51 in existence. It is for sale on August 19 by Bonhams at Quail Lodge, Carmel CA, lot 36.
Please watch the video shared by Bonhams.
At all times, an automobile supremacy is necessarily short lived. The technical progress of Alfa Romeo and Mercedes-Benz is forcing Bugatti to look for new solutions. It is too late. Despite some early successes, the new models Types 51, 53 and 54 introduced in 1931 and 1932 will not match the ambitions of the French brand.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the Miller 91 achieves great results in competition with its small supercharged engine reduced in volume to adapt to new rules, even at that time ! Bugatti indirectly obtains the Miller 91 patterns and creates its own Type 51 by plagiarizing the camshaft from its American competitor. The external features of the new car are almost unchanged from Type 35.
One of the first Bugatti Type 51 was sold in 1931 to Lord Howe, an outstanding personality of British motor racing who won in the same year the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a driving partnership with Henry Birkin on an Alfa Romeo 8C-2300.
Lord Howe intensely used his Bugatti Type 51, entering it four times at the Monaco Grand Prix. Tazio Nuvolari was once seen driving this car in the same time range, but only for practices. Lord Howe sold it in 1935. The later story is less glorious : the Bugatti overturned to kill its second owner in 1937.
Despite its rebuilding performed around its original chassis after the accident, Lord Howe's Bugatti remains one of the most desirable Type 51 in existence. It is for sale on August 19 by Bonhams at Quail Lodge, Carmel CA, lot 36.
Please watch the video shared by Bonhams.
1931 Grand Prix with Wimille
2018 SOLD for $ 3.74M including premium
After a full decade of domination in competitions, the Bugatti 35 became obsolete in 1931. To stay in the running against the growing ambitions of Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz and Bentley, Bugatticreated a new model, the Type 51 Grand Prix.
The 51 retains the 2.3 liter volume of the 35 B while increasing its power with an engine layout copied from Miller. Intended for competition, this model is divided between the factory team and private owners.
One of them began its race history in July 1931 as a factory car at the Belgian Grand Prix. At the end of that year, it was sold to the young driver Jean-Pierre Wimille for 80,000 francs, a large sum for the time. In 1932 Wimille ran it in two Grand Prix in North Africa, winning the Algerian Grand Prix in Oran.
Before Wimille sells it a few months later, Bugatti reinstalls its equipment on a new frame without changing the chassis number. I guess this was a simple service after its short African career : satisfied with its condition, Bugatti has assembled another body on the original chassis.
The 51 ex Wimille is used intensively in Grand Prix in 1933 and 1934 before becoming the only Type 51 to enter American competitions, without much success.
Like most racing cars of its time, this Bugatti had several crashes and incidents as well as equipment substitutions. This second chassis is currently equipped with its original body, its original engine returned to operation and reinstalled around 1986 and its original gearbox retrieved in 1989 by its owner of that time in an auction of spare equipment.
It is estimated $ 3.2M for sale by Gooding at Pebble Beach on August 24, lot 48. I had discussed it in this column before it passed at RM Auctions on August 14, 2010. Meanwhile the Bugatti Type 51 ex Lord Howe was sold for $ 4M including premium by Bonhams on August 19, 2016.
The 51 retains the 2.3 liter volume of the 35 B while increasing its power with an engine layout copied from Miller. Intended for competition, this model is divided between the factory team and private owners.
One of them began its race history in July 1931 as a factory car at the Belgian Grand Prix. At the end of that year, it was sold to the young driver Jean-Pierre Wimille for 80,000 francs, a large sum for the time. In 1932 Wimille ran it in two Grand Prix in North Africa, winning the Algerian Grand Prix in Oran.
Before Wimille sells it a few months later, Bugatti reinstalls its equipment on a new frame without changing the chassis number. I guess this was a simple service after its short African career : satisfied with its condition, Bugatti has assembled another body on the original chassis.
The 51 ex Wimille is used intensively in Grand Prix in 1933 and 1934 before becoming the only Type 51 to enter American competitions, without much success.
Like most racing cars of its time, this Bugatti had several crashes and incidents as well as equipment substitutions. This second chassis is currently equipped with its original body, its original engine returned to operation and reinstalled around 1986 and its original gearbox retrieved in 1989 by its owner of that time in an auction of spare equipment.
It is estimated $ 3.2M for sale by Gooding at Pebble Beach on August 24, lot 48. I had discussed it in this column before it passed at RM Auctions on August 14, 2010. Meanwhile the Bugatti Type 51 ex Lord Howe was sold for $ 4M including premium by Bonhams on August 19, 2016.
1932 The Roadsters of Jean Bugatti
2016 SOLD for $ 10.4M including premium
Reputed to be a traditionalist, Ettore Bugatti was perfectly right to trust his son Jean. The skills of the young man both as designer and engineer certainly saved the brand throughout the economic crisis of the 1930s.
The situation is uneasy. In racing, the glorious Type 35 is no more competitive and its successors Types 51, 53 and 54 do not reach the performance of their Alfa Romeo competitors. Too expensive, the Type 41 La Royale limousine appealed only three customers and its target of 25 units in production will never be achieved.
Fortunately the commercial success is maintained by a deluxe coupé designed in 1929 by Ettore and Jean, the Type 46 nicknamed La Petite Royale. Jean is 20 years old.
The Bugatti brand introduces in 1931 the Type 55 sports car with three factory bodywork options : coupé, cabriolet and roadster. Designed by Jean, this roadster introduces an increased elegance within the Bugatti range. In the following year, Jean gets inspired by this avant-garde experience to equip in roadster the La Royale purchased by Armand Esders.
From 1931 to 1936, 14 of the Type 55 chassis are equipped with Jean Bugatti's roadster. One of them made in 1932 is estimated $ 10M for sale by Gooding on August 21 in Pebble Beach, lot 135. It is illustrated along with other cars of its time in the press release.
Despite the differentiation between sports and competition models, the car for sale had entered the Mille Miglia in 1932. Piloted by Achille Varzi who was then an official driver to Bugatti, it had to stop after the piercing of the fuel tank by a rock.
This car retained a high level of authenticity. It was completely dismantled for a careful restoration. The original engine and gearbox, replaced by replicas during the re-assembly, are included in the auction lot.
The situation is uneasy. In racing, the glorious Type 35 is no more competitive and its successors Types 51, 53 and 54 do not reach the performance of their Alfa Romeo competitors. Too expensive, the Type 41 La Royale limousine appealed only three customers and its target of 25 units in production will never be achieved.
Fortunately the commercial success is maintained by a deluxe coupé designed in 1929 by Ettore and Jean, the Type 46 nicknamed La Petite Royale. Jean is 20 years old.
The Bugatti brand introduces in 1931 the Type 55 sports car with three factory bodywork options : coupé, cabriolet and roadster. Designed by Jean, this roadster introduces an increased elegance within the Bugatti range. In the following year, Jean gets inspired by this avant-garde experience to equip in roadster the La Royale purchased by Armand Esders.
From 1931 to 1936, 14 of the Type 55 chassis are equipped with Jean Bugatti's roadster. One of them made in 1932 is estimated $ 10M for sale by Gooding on August 21 in Pebble Beach, lot 135. It is illustrated along with other cars of its time in the press release.
Despite the differentiation between sports and competition models, the car for sale had entered the Mille Miglia in 1932. Piloted by Achille Varzi who was then an official driver to Bugatti, it had to stop after the piercing of the fuel tank by a rock.
This car retained a high level of authenticity. It was completely dismantled for a careful restoration. The original engine and gearbox, replaced by replicas during the re-assembly, are included in the auction lot.
1937 British Elegance for a Bugatti
2016 SOLD for $ 9.7M including premium
The Type 57 introduced by Bugatti in 1934 invites for any elegance. With a lowered chassis designed in 1937 under the reference 57S, this luxury model belongs firmly to the category of sports cars.
Various bodies are proposed by Bugatti for the 57 or 57S: Galibier berline, Ventoux coach, Stelvio and Aravis cabriolets, Atalante and Atlantic coupés. They are manufactured in Colmar by Gangloff, a subcontractor of Bugatti.
In the practice of that time, the outsourcing of the body is also accepted by the brand. In 1937, the new Bugatti agent in New York commissions a four-seater touring roadster which is made by Vanden Plas in the minimalist style of the British taste.
No American customer is interested and the Bugatti - Vanden Plas car returns to London. It is appreciated by Bugatti who pictures it in the 1937-1938 catalog and exhibits it at the 1938 London Motor Show, but it will nevertheless remain unique.
The car resurfaced slightly modified in 1947 as a Type 57SC sports tourer. It is supercharged, a very attractive option for the users because the car can now reach 190 km/h. Its compressor will be replaced later by a similar equipment more in accordance with the original design of a Type 57SC.
This masterpiece of the Franco-British pre-war automobile is estimated $ 11M for sale by Bonhams in Amelia Island on March 10, lot 139. The estimate, not indicated in the catalog, is revealed by the press release of February 17. Its perfect working condition is shown in the video shared by the auction house.
Various bodies are proposed by Bugatti for the 57 or 57S: Galibier berline, Ventoux coach, Stelvio and Aravis cabriolets, Atalante and Atlantic coupés. They are manufactured in Colmar by Gangloff, a subcontractor of Bugatti.
In the practice of that time, the outsourcing of the body is also accepted by the brand. In 1937, the new Bugatti agent in New York commissions a four-seater touring roadster which is made by Vanden Plas in the minimalist style of the British taste.
No American customer is interested and the Bugatti - Vanden Plas car returns to London. It is appreciated by Bugatti who pictures it in the 1937-1938 catalog and exhibits it at the 1938 London Motor Show, but it will nevertheless remain unique.
The car resurfaced slightly modified in 1947 as a Type 57SC sports tourer. It is supercharged, a very attractive option for the users because the car can now reach 190 km/h. Its compressor will be replaced later by a similar equipment more in accordance with the original design of a Type 57SC.
This masterpiece of the Franco-British pre-war automobile is estimated $ 11M for sale by Bonhams in Amelia Island on March 10, lot 139. The estimate, not indicated in the catalog, is revealed by the press release of February 17. Its perfect working condition is shown in the video shared by the auction house.
1937 The Lowered Chassis by Jean Bugatti
2013 SOLD 8.7 M$ including premium
Jean Bugatti was one of the great innovators of automobile design. The lowered variant 57S of the chassis type 57 paves the way for unprecedented solutions for sport and luxury, like the 57S Atalante and Atlantic. From the beginning their rarity makes them true works of art.
The ultimate improvement of the Bugatti 57 is the supercharged SC model. Dr. Williamson had one of the two surviving Bugatti 57SC Atlantic and one 57SC Atalante. His Atlantic was sold for more than $ 30M in a private sale facilitated by Gooding in 2010. His Atalante was sold for $ 7.9 million including premium at auction in August 2008, also by Gooding.
The supercharger was an appealing enhancement for the richest clients of Bugatti, and a high proportion of 57S were transformed into 57SC.
On August 18 at Pebble Beach Gooding sells an Atalante that has retained its original engine and body and is presented in an elegant original-like black finish. It was made in 1937, the same year as Williamson's Atalante, and was one of the first units to return to the factory for being equipped as an SC.
Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good result, $ 8.7 million including premium, just above Williamson's Atalante sold in 2008.
The ultimate improvement of the Bugatti 57 is the supercharged SC model. Dr. Williamson had one of the two surviving Bugatti 57SC Atlantic and one 57SC Atalante. His Atlantic was sold for more than $ 30M in a private sale facilitated by Gooding in 2010. His Atalante was sold for $ 7.9 million including premium at auction in August 2008, also by Gooding.
The supercharger was an appealing enhancement for the richest clients of Bugatti, and a high proportion of 57S were transformed into 57SC.
On August 18 at Pebble Beach Gooding sells an Atalante that has retained its original engine and body and is presented in an elegant original-like black finish. It was made in 1937, the same year as Williamson's Atalante, and was one of the first units to return to the factory for being equipped as an SC.
Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very good result, $ 8.7 million including premium, just above Williamson's Atalante sold in 2008.
1937 Twelve Bugattis including an Atalante coupé
2008 SOLD 7.9 M$ including premium
The sale will take place on 16 and 17 August, but fans of Bugatti are already watching toward Pebble Beach, California. At these dates Gooding will disperse a collection of twelve Bugattis, including a 57SC Atalante coupe of 1937, and a 35B of 1928 whose first owner was Louis Chiron, one of the most successful racing drivers of these ancient times.
This collection from an estate is unique in the range of models and the personality of their former owner, a professor of medicine whose passion for automobiles were raised exclusively for that mark and who was president of the American Bugatti Club. The proceeds from the sale will go to medical organizations.
Indeed there is no Bugatti Royale in this group, but Bugatti was renowned to produce at the same time models of luxury and race, and the two top lots of the sale, mentioned here above, are not bad either.
All these vehicles are announced as being in exceptional condition, and the auction house announced to expect more than $ 15 million. The individual estimates are not given, but we easily appreciate from these figures that the coupé and the race car prices will be multimillionaire. The same can be said of a third car, a roadster type 55, 1931, which enters the short list of the lots highlighted in the press release.
POST SALE COMMENT
Excellent results.
The Atalante coupe, which is one of the masterpieces of Bugatti, was sold $ 7.9 million.
The other two cars mentioned in my article also well behaved: Chiron's 35 B has been sold $ 1.45 million and the 55 roadster was sold $ 1.75 million.
These prices are including fees.
This collection from an estate is unique in the range of models and the personality of their former owner, a professor of medicine whose passion for automobiles were raised exclusively for that mark and who was president of the American Bugatti Club. The proceeds from the sale will go to medical organizations.
Indeed there is no Bugatti Royale in this group, but Bugatti was renowned to produce at the same time models of luxury and race, and the two top lots of the sale, mentioned here above, are not bad either.
All these vehicles are announced as being in exceptional condition, and the auction house announced to expect more than $ 15 million. The individual estimates are not given, but we easily appreciate from these figures that the coupé and the race car prices will be multimillionaire. The same can be said of a third car, a roadster type 55, 1931, which enters the short list of the lots highlighted in the press release.
POST SALE COMMENT
Excellent results.
The Atalante coupe, which is one of the masterpieces of Bugatti, was sold $ 7.9 million.
The other two cars mentioned in my article also well behaved: Chiron's 35 B has been sold $ 1.45 million and the 55 roadster was sold $ 1.75 million.
These prices are including fees.
1937 A 57S Cabriolet by Vanvooren
2017 SOLD for $ 7.7M including premium
Introduced in 1934, the Bugatti Type 57 had a spectacular broadening of its range in October 1936 when the 57C supercharged and the 57S are simultaneously unveiled at the Salon de l'Automobile in Paris. The 57S standing for "surbaissé" (lowered) has a chassis different from the other 57. The similar reference designating all these models is certainly to claim that the Type 57 offers a complete choice to the most demanding customers for luxury and sport.
In its time the 57S was only exciting the true connoisseurs. Its production was stopped in May 1938 for focusing onto the other variants whose commercial success was flourishing. Only 42 57S chassis have been produced. Some owners have transformed their 57S into the supercharged 57SC configuration and the genuine 57S are now very rare.
The 57S is offered in the catalog of the brand with a wide range of bodyworks that are made in Colmar by Gangloff, a subsidiary of Bugatti. The supply of chassis to independent workshops on specific request from a customer or a retailer is also encouraged. A unique 57S/SC bodyworked for the British taste by Vanden Plas was sold for $ 9.7M including premium by Bonhams on March 10, 2016.
As for the cabriolets Bugatti proposes the Aravis model which originally fitted 19 of the 42 57S chassis. The Carrosserie Vanvooren in Courbevoie realizes for its part four cabriolets 57S of which three are surviving today.
A 57S cabriolet assembled in 1937 by Vanvooren has been carefully preserved by its successive owners and is offered today with its original chassis, body, engine and gearbox. It was repainted in the early 1960s with elegant primrose yellow sides that reinforce its resemblance to an Atalante coupe.
An exceptional witness to the mechanical construction of the 57S and to the art of Vanvooren, this cabriolet is estimated $ 8.5M for sale by RM Sotheby's on March 11 at Amelia Island, lot 232.
In its time the 57S was only exciting the true connoisseurs. Its production was stopped in May 1938 for focusing onto the other variants whose commercial success was flourishing. Only 42 57S chassis have been produced. Some owners have transformed their 57S into the supercharged 57SC configuration and the genuine 57S are now very rare.
The 57S is offered in the catalog of the brand with a wide range of bodyworks that are made in Colmar by Gangloff, a subsidiary of Bugatti. The supply of chassis to independent workshops on specific request from a customer or a retailer is also encouraged. A unique 57S/SC bodyworked for the British taste by Vanden Plas was sold for $ 9.7M including premium by Bonhams on March 10, 2016.
As for the cabriolets Bugatti proposes the Aravis model which originally fitted 19 of the 42 57S chassis. The Carrosserie Vanvooren in Courbevoie realizes for its part four cabriolets 57S of which three are surviving today.
A 57S cabriolet assembled in 1937 by Vanvooren has been carefully preserved by its successive owners and is offered today with its original chassis, body, engine and gearbox. It was repainted in the early 1960s with elegant primrose yellow sides that reinforce its resemblance to an Atalante coupe.
An exceptional witness to the mechanical construction of the 57S and to the art of Vanvooren, this cabriolet is estimated $ 8.5M for sale by RM Sotheby's on March 11 at Amelia Island, lot 232.
1937 A Hidden Bugatti
2009 SOLD 3.5 M€ including premium
The car market is one where unexpected treasures are still emerging. The surprise of last year came at Gooding in Peeble Beach on 16 and 17 August. The 1938 Alfa Romeo was hidden in a castle for thirty years. When it came out, it was named the Sleeping Beauty. It was sold $ 2.6 million including expenses.
The car coming at Bonhams in Paris on February 7 is even more outstanding. This two-seat Bugatti Atalante 57S coupé, delivered in 1937 to a Lord, had not been seen since half a century. It reads 26 000 miles only on the odometer. It will create excitement among collectors, because such cars keep their original equipment. This is the case for this one, for the chassis, the engine, the drivetrain, and the body that remained black.
This model is one of the most prestigious. In its name, the S means Lowered, and this makes it particularly aerodynamic. The glory of the Williamson collection, sold by Gooding at the Pebble Beach auction already mentioned at the beginning of this article, was a 57SC Atalante coupé. It sold $ 7.9 million including expenses. It had a nice color in two shades of green that made it particularly photogenic. The characteristic C indicates a supercharged engine. It had been the subject of an article in this Group.
Bonhams hopes that its Atalante exceeds € 3 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
The fans always love the old cars in their original condition. Regarding prices, the estimate given by Bonhams was referred. The Atalante was sold € 3.5 million including expenses.
This sale was held during the salon Rétromobile. It is an achievement for Paris, and one of the highest results recorded in France for a vintage car.
The car coming at Bonhams in Paris on February 7 is even more outstanding. This two-seat Bugatti Atalante 57S coupé, delivered in 1937 to a Lord, had not been seen since half a century. It reads 26 000 miles only on the odometer. It will create excitement among collectors, because such cars keep their original equipment. This is the case for this one, for the chassis, the engine, the drivetrain, and the body that remained black.
This model is one of the most prestigious. In its name, the S means Lowered, and this makes it particularly aerodynamic. The glory of the Williamson collection, sold by Gooding at the Pebble Beach auction already mentioned at the beginning of this article, was a 57SC Atalante coupé. It sold $ 7.9 million including expenses. It had a nice color in two shades of green that made it particularly photogenic. The characteristic C indicates a supercharged engine. It had been the subject of an article in this Group.
Bonhams hopes that its Atalante exceeds € 3 million.
POST SALE COMMENT
The fans always love the old cars in their original condition. Regarding prices, the estimate given by Bonhams was referred. The Atalante was sold € 3.5 million including expenses.
This sale was held during the salon Rétromobile. It is an achievement for Paris, and one of the highest results recorded in France for a vintage car.
