1920 Bugatti Type 13 2 Seat Dog Cart / 981 Chassis Information

Sold for $379,500 at 2012 Gooding and Company - Pebble Beach Auction.
Sold for $400,431 (€357,600) at 2016 Rétromobile 2016 by Artcurial Motorcars.
Ettore Bugatti entered four examples of his Type 13 in a newly estalbished Grand Prix race in northern Italy, the Gran Premio d'Italia Internazionale held at the Circuito di Brescia on August 21st of 1921. Ernest Friderich drove car number 13 to a victory in its class with an average speed of 72 mph over 215 miles, setting a new record for the 1,400cc category. The other Bugatti cars finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th. After this impressive accomplishment, the model was dubbed the 'Brescia Bugatti.' Between 1920 and 1926, the Brescias scored a long list of important successes in Britain and Continental Europe.

This Bugatti Type 13, chassis number 981, was manufactured in Molsheim, France, on August 14th of 1920. It was originally configured as a Type 22-27 and was equipped with a 16-valve, overhead-camshaft engine (no. 538), an RB magneto, four shock absorbers, five Rudge wire wheels, the 'long'-type steering column and four-place coachwork.

Chassis 981 was included in a delivery of 20 Bugatti chassis to Louis Pabanel of Paris on September 5th of 1920. Louis Pabanel was an official agent for Bugatti, Diatto and Hotchkiss automobiles.

When World War II came to a close, an American serviceman stationed in France discovered the Bugatti and shipped the car to the United States. It was later purchased by Bud Ley of Cleveland, Ohio. Under Mr. Ley's ownership, the car was sent to England, where the original chassis was shortened to Type 13 configuration.

In 1978, the car joined Ben Moser's collection of motorcars. In the 1980s, the car was purchased by Yoshiyuki Hayashi of Gotemba, Japan. In 1995, the Bugatti returned to the United States where it was sold to Rick Rawlings of Balboa Island, California. Three years later, the car was purchased by its present owner. Upon purchase, the car was given a high-quality restoration. The car retains its original, matching-numbers engine (538), gearbox (488) and rear axle (891).

In 2012, the car was offered for sale at the Pebble Beach auction presented by Gooding & Company. The car was estimated to sell for $250,000 - $350,000. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of $379,500 inclusive of buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2012