1936 Bugatti Type 57 Stelvio

The Bugatti Type 57 was unveiled in 1934 and was a masterpiece by Jean Bugatti. It was designed to replace the Type 49 and came equipped with a 3.3-liter twin-cam straight-eight engine. The Bugatti Type 57 was continually refined throughout its production lifespan resulting in three distinct series of chassis. The second-series chassis was introduced in 1936 and featured a cross-braced frame, rubber engine mounts, upgraded brakes, a strengthened rear axle, and other improvements.

This particular example, with a second series chassis, was invoiced to Monestier, the official Bugatti agent in Lyon, France, on September 24th, 1936. It left the factory equipped with engine number 310 and Labourdette Cabriolet coachwork.

The first owner of this car was Gabriel d'Aubarède. It is believed to have remained in his care for only a short period of time. By November of 1937, it was offered for sale by Gaston Docime, the Bugatti agent in Neuilly-sur-Seine. It was stored in Nice throughout World War II and was sold in the late 1940s to M. Goldberg. Around the time of his acquisition, the engine seized, and the car was taken to Paris for a mechanical overhaul. Presumably, around this time, the original engine was replaced with the current unit, which is stamped with the chassis number rather than the conventional engine number.

Around this time, the original Labourdette coachwork was replaced with a Stelvio body constructed by Gangloff of Colmar.

In 1959, J.G. Cady of DeWitt, New York, acquired and imported the Bugatti. In 1968, the current owner acquired the Type 57 from a used-car dealer in Detroit.

In recent years, this Bugatti has been repainted and reupholstered. Despite this, it remained in essentially unrestored condition.

By Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2018