Description
This car is Lot 128 to be auctioned by Bonhams|Cars at Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris Sale on 6 February, please see the Bonhams website for full details.
Public Viewing:
Available Tuesday 4 February from 08:00 until 18:00 and Wednesday 5 February from 9 AM - 6 PM, at The Grand Palais Historique, Paris.
Lot 128
1936 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet
Registration no.
Chassis no. 57379
Delivered new in England
Matching numbers engine and chassis
Well known and documented history
Current ownership since 1987
Dominic Labhardt expertise & Laugier Report on file
Mechanics fully overhauled in 2024
Swiss registration document
'The car sped along at 80mph with the comfort and quietness one associates with the Type 57... We were quite willing to believe that Jean Bugatti has achieved the 435 kilometres to Paris in just under 3½ hours in the Type 57 - an average of 77mph...' - Motor Sport, May 1939.
By the early 1930s Ettore Bugatti had established an unrivalled reputation for building cars with outstanding performance on road or track; the world's greatest racing drivers enjoying countless successes aboard the Molsheim factory's products and often choosing them for their everyday transport. Because of its lengthy run of success, Ettore Bugatti remained stubbornly committed to his single-cam engine, only adopting the more advanced double-overhead-camshaft method of valve actuation, after much prompting by his eldest son Jean, on the Type 50 of 1930. From then on Jean Bugatti took greater responsibility for design, his first car being the exquisite Type 55 roadster. He followed that with a design of equal stature: the Type 57. A larger car than the Type 55, the Type 57 was powered by a 3. 3-litre, double-overhead-camshaft straight eight of modern design housed in Bugatti's familiar Vintage-style chassis. The range showed the strong influence of Jean Bugatti and at last gave the marque a civilised grande routière to match those of rivals Delage and Delahaye. The Type 57 in all its forms attracted discerning owners who were satisfied only with the best, among them 'speed king' Sir Malcolm Campbell.
The Type 57 attracted coachwork of the finest quality executed often with bespoke bodies in a startling variety of styles but was no mere rich man's plaything, as evidenced by two outright wins at Le Mans. Proof, if it were needed, that ancestral virtues had not been abandoned when creating a car fit to rank alongside Rolls-Royce or Bentley. Its success is revealed by the production figures: some 680 examples of all Type 57 models were produced between 1934 and 1940, and the post-war Type 101 was based on its chassis.
Chassis #57379, fitted with engine 273, was assembled at the Molsheim factory in February 1936 and sold through Colonel W. L. Sorel, the marque's official dealer in London. The bodywork of this four-seater was entrusted to Maltby of Folkestone in Kent.
Maltby was founded in 1902 in Sandgate, Kent, and by the mid-1930s, it specialised primarily in convertible bodywork. Among its most notable innovations was the automation of the hood mechanism. As early as 1935, Maltby employed the hydraulic pump from the "Jackall" system, before adopting a combination of electric motor and pump from 1936 onwards. Maltby distinguished itself as the first British coachbuilder to automate the opening and closing of convertible hoods, a significant technical advancement at the time.
It was then delivered to Victor Belfield, its first owner. The Laugier report, included in the dossier, allows us to trace the history of the Bugatti Type 57 #57379 over the years, initially in England, then in Switzerland where it was exported in 1973. Among its owners was Colin Osborne Bibby, a Royal Air Force pilot, identified in The Bugatti Book published in 1954.
The current owner acquired #57379 in 1987 and is now selling it after nearly 40 years of ownership. It has recently undergone a significant mechanical overhaul at the Franks Originale workshop in Switzerland, focusing on the carburetion, ignition, electrical system, fuel tank, radiator, brakes, and more. The invoices for this work are available on file, alongside the 2022 inspection by Dominic & Max Labhardt, President of the Swiss Bugatti Club, the report by Pierre-Yves Laugier, and the purchase invoice from 1987.
Please note that if this vehicle is sold to a French private buyer or an EU private individual the reduced rate of Import VAT at 5. 5% will be charged on the hammer price. The Import VAT will be invoiced to you by our custom broker who will also charge a clearance fee. If you buy as a Trader or Company however, the Finances Publiques will charge you directly (based on our customs broker clearance) and the French VAT Import Charges will not appear on your Bonhams invoice. Please note that if you purchase as an EU Company, you are required to pay the VAT in your registered country at the relevant rate. Import rates to other EU Countries may vary and an administration fee will be charged to prepare the necessary customs clearance. If you have any questions regarding customs clearance, please contact the Bonhams Motorcar Department or our recommended shippers.
All lots are sold 'as is/ where is' and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness and originality prior to bidding. Visit the Bonhams|Cars website for all pertinent auction information.
