1939 Bugatti Type 57 Galibier Saloon

This beautifully restored Type 57C is a 3rd series car and is number 19 of 27 cars built between October 1938 – July 1939. Of the 27 cars built during that period, only 11 cars were supercharged. Bugatti offered clients the choice of four factory-designed styles: the Galibier four-door saloon; the two-door Ventoux coupé; the Stelvio cabriolet; and the Atalante Coupe. This particular car was ordered by Garage de Seze (the location of the Bugatti Agency Monestier et Cie in Lyon) invoiced on March 12, 1939, and delivered on May 4, 1939, to Benoit Levet Arnaud who resided at 61 Cours Tolstoi in Lyon, France. It was returned to the factory to be fitted with a 3.3-liter supercharged engine a year after purchase. During the war, it was moved to the Somme area for safekeeping and came back to Lyon postwar, circa 1952. Having spent most of its life in Europe, the car found its way to the United States in the late 1980s or early 1990s where it was restored by Hill & Vaughn. It was finished in a stately combination of red and black lacquer.

This Bugatti was purchased in 2009 by its current caretaker and became the recipient of a comprehensive frame-off restoration by the Scottsdale Automotive Museum. It was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2011 and the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in 2013.

This Bugatti, with chassis number 57752 was originally powered by an unsupercharged engine, number 549. Around 1940, the car returned to the factory where it received a supercharged engine, number 4C, which had originally been fitted to chassis number 57476. The 3,257cc dual overhead camshaft inline eight-cylinder engine with the Roots-Type Supercharger and single Updraft carburetor produces 160 horsepower at 5,000 RPM. It is paired with a four-speed manual gearbox and there are four-wheel Lockheed hydraulic drum brakes, a solid front axle, and a live rear axle.