1928 Bugatti Type 44 Cabriolet

This Bugatti Type 44 two-seater Cabriolet was ordered by Swiss agents Blanc and Paiche of Geneva on February 11th of 1928 and delivered to them five days after the order. It wore coachwork by Graber of Wichtrach, listed as a two-seater cabriolet. Its first owner was Mr. Weckmann or Wegmann. Around the mid-1930s, the original coachwork was either updated or replaced by Swiss carrossier, F. Gerber. By this point, ownership had passed to Ernest Maring who showed it at the Concours d'Elegance in Villars in 1935. It remained in the car of Mr. Maring for around two decades before it was offered for sale in the Bugatti Owner's Club Bugantics publication in 1955. Photos of the car at the time show that coachwork had fender skirts, wheel discs, and a horizontally separated two-tone color scheme.

A short time later, the car migrated to the United States, where it has remained. The first American owner was Dr. Milton Roth of California, and it is believed that he had the car repainted to a solid dark olive green hue and likely returned the fenders to their 1920s guise.

The car was later acquired by Bill Harrah for his collection in Reno, Nevada. It remained with the collection until after Mr. Harrah's death and was included in the first dispersal sale in 1984, where it was acquired by Maurice Schwartz of Boca Raton, Florida. It was sold at auction in 2006 and passed briefly to Robert Swarms before changing hands again through Donald Koleman's Competition Motors Ltd. to Dean Edmonds.

Mr. Edmonds commissioned Koleman to modify the car with a shorter panel behind the seat to make driving more comfortable. In 2009, it was discovered that the radiator was leaking and the decision was made to have it re-cored in England. Cosmopolitan and Manfred's Automobile Specialties later performed additional maintenance.

By Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2020