1937 Bugatti Type 57 Roadster

This 1937 Bugatti Type 57C, serial number 57617, was built by Van Vooren and sold new to Monsieur Le Depute Jean Gapiaud of Paris. Originally constructed as a cabriolet drop-head, it was modified by Van Vooren prior to delivery.

The car arrived at Van Vooren's shop on November 25th, 1937, to be dressed with a four-seater open body, which was built to design number 7495. The original owner was Jean Gapiand, the proprietor of a fence company and a local politician. Gapiand traded his Type 57 Ventoux, chassis number 57364, against the purchase of the new car, with the total cost being 70,000 French francs plus the value of the Ventoux. He took delivery of the completed car on January 31, 1938.

Gapiand sold this car in April of 1939 in favor of a 4.25-Litre Bentley. The Bugatti then moved to Paris, where it was registered as 2492 RM 7 until 1956. It was reported that the body and chassis were taken apart and hidden in Spain during World War II, and after the war, were brought back together.


Its first recorded post-war owner, Jean-Claude George, was a chemical engineer and sports car enthusiast who also owned a 300 SL Gullwing. During George's ownership, the car was serviced by Bugatti specialist Roger Teillac in Paris.

On April 9, 1956, George re-registered the Bugatti as 915 EV 75, due to his intention to sell it. It passed through two other known owners before being sold to Jean Serre, of Montebeliard, whose family handled many Bugattis during the 1950s and 1960s. Presumably, by this point, the original Vanvooren coachwork had been transferred to another chassis or lost, and the car emerged from the Serre hoard in the mid-1990s as a bare chassis. The car was brought to America in 1999 and into the care of Malcolm Pray. It was restored by Alan Taylor of Escondido, CA, with the work being completed in 2006.

This Bugatti is powered by a 3.3-liter (198.8 cubic-inch) straight-eight engine, with dual overhead camshafts, a Roots Type supercharger, and Stromberg carburetors, developing 175 horsepower. The vehicle has a four-speed manual transmission, Rudge wire wheels with 18x5.50 inch tires, and a top speed of 120 mph.

Total production was 630.

The Bugatti Type 57 chassis with its 117.5-inch wheelbase and 170 horsepower straight 8-cylinder engine, lent itself to some of the most beautiful automobiles ever designed. It has won its class at Amelia Island and Best of Show at both the Greenwich and Burn Foundation concours.

Chassis number 57617 has retained its original engine, number 16C, and supercharger, number 6S; while the gearbox, 38C, is from chassis number 57726, a supercharged Letourneur et Marchand Cabriolet. It is believed that the gearbox was exchanged in the 1950s when the car was undergoing service in the Teillac garage.