Description
This car is Lot 150 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 150
1928 Bugatti T43 Grand Sport
Registration no.
Chassis no. 43219
Chassis, engine, rear axle, and gearbox matching numbers
Extensively documented, including the 2022 Laugier report and archive copies
Eligible for numerous prestigious international events, such as the Mille Miglia
Belgian registration document
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 using the Molsheim factory's products and often choosing them for their everyday transport.
His earlier efforts notwithstanding, the foundation of Bugatti's not inconsiderable repute was his family of eight-cylinder cars, the first of which the Type 30 appeared in 1922. The Type 30 shared its chassis, axles and gearbox with the later four-cylinder Type 13 Brescia model and was powered by an inline eight displacing 1, 991cc. Developments of this superb engine, with its single overhead camshaft and three valves per cylinder, would go on to power the Type 35 Grand Prix car, the Type 38 tourer and Type 43 sports car.
Introduced in 1927, the Type 43 was, in essence, a road-going version of Bugatti's most successful Grand Prix racing car, the Type 35. The Type 43 used the 2, 262cc engine, complete with Roots supercharger, introduced on the Type 35B, which was installed in a new curved chassis similar to that of the Grand Prix racer. Type 35 wheels were used, together with the larger radiator and brakes also found in the Type 38. Not surprisingly, considering its Grand Prix derivation, the Type 43 proved immensely successful in sports car racing, being campaigned by the factory and a host of private owners.
Assembled between late 1927 and early 1928, this Bugatti Type 43, chassis #43219, fitted with the 2, 300 cc engine no. 67, was initially used by the factory until October 1928 before being delivered to its first owner, Mr. Jameson, on 27 October 1928. An automotive industrialist of Scottish and American origin married to a Frenchwoman, Mr. Jameson resided in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, according to Bugatti's records. In 1929, the car was sold by Bugatti on behalf of its first owner to the Berlin-based company Hackelöer Koebinghoff for the sum of 62, 000 Fr.
After the Second World War, the car reappeared in Czechoslovakia in 1947, identified in the hands of Antonin Sperlink during a rally held in Prague on 22 and 23 February 1947, as reported in the automotive magazine Svet Motoru. At the time, the vehicle was registered as P-8753. It was then in Poland, in the Opava region, at the end of the 1950s. At that time, it was fitted with a BMW 327-style body and a 327 model engine, although its original engine and gearbox were kept separately.
The cabriolet body, according to recollections of former residents relayed to Petr Kozisek, director of the Prague Technical Museum, is believed to be the work of a small coachbuilder from the city. It may have used the base of a BMW body and the front wings of an Alfa Romeo, though this remains uncertain. Photographs of the car taken between 1955 and 1960 show it in the Opava region, a Silesian town near the Polish border. At that time, it bore the registration OP-55-07, corresponding to that city and era.
Around 1965, the Bugatti was fitted with a BMW 327 engine, though the original engine and gearbox were preserved. The car, featuring BMW 327-style bodywork, was dismantled in the 1970s by Dr Kunze of Stuttgart and Mr Vavra, as confirmed in a letter from Dr Heiner Lohrer to the owner in March 2022.
Dismantled in the 1970s, Mr Lohrer embarked on extensive investigations spanning several years and numerous trips, crossing the Iron Curtain to gather all the original components of the car. A copy of his letter detailing this remarkable odyssey is included in the file, and his account is also referenced in the Laugier report, available for consultation. Around the same time, the car was fitted with a Grand Sport body with a wooden frame crafted by Mr Lohrer, which it still features today. Following its restoration, the car participated in the Bugatti Festival in Molsheim and the 1991 Mille Miglia.
In the hands of its next owner, the Bugatti was once again completely restored in the 2000s by the workshop of Malcolm Gentry in the United Kingdom. It was finally acquired by the current owner at an auction in 2003.
"Well documented in all of the relevant Bugatti registeres and Jack du Gan's Type 43 register, and meticulously restored to its original configuration as a Grand Sport; the chassis frame, engine, gearbox, rear axle, and, in all likelihood, its front axle (though lacking a discernible n u m b e r ) , s h a r e c o m p o n e n t correlations traceable back 43219, making it an exciting example of one of the ultimate 'Grand Tourers' of its time. Equally at home on hill climbs and events like the Mille Miglia as it is on the open road of the wide array of international Bugatti Rallies and events, this is a great opportunity to take on everything 2024 has to offer ." Will I'anson.
The car is accompanied by a 2023 William I'Anson report, a 2022 report from Pierre-Yves Laugier, which meticulously details the originality of the components that make up the car, illustrated with copies from the archives, as well as the 2013 report from Mark Morris & David Sewell.
Please note there is restricted bidding on this lot which requires enhanced bid verification checks. Please contact us at using the button below or call +44 20 7447 7447 as soon as possible if you are planning to bid on this lot to prevent any last-minute delays.
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.
