1944 Bugatti Type 73C

The production of the Bugatti Type 73 began in 1943, right before the onset of World War II. Production was postponed during the war, resuming in 1947 with the introduction of the Type 73A. Ettore Bugatti's death on August 21, 1947, spelled the demise of the Type 73.

The Type 73, Type 73B, and Type 73A were touring cars that came with seating for either two or four people. All the Type 73 (A, B, C) were given, or intended to have, four-cylinder engines. The Type 73 had twin overhead camshafts with four valves per cylinder. The Type 73B was similar but had single overhead camshafts. The Type 73A had single overhead camshafts with three valves per cylinder.

Five chassis of the Grand Prix, single seater Type 73C were constructed with only one (73002) receiving an engine and testing by the factory. The chassis numbers were 73001 through 73005. The supercharged engine was a 1.5-liter straight-four with twin overhead camshafts and four-valves per cylinder. It featured a detachable cylinder head, wet cylinder liners, and an exhaust manifold constructed of cast iron. The rest of the chassis were sold off as the company ceased production. Most of the chassis was later completed, some being given bodies true to the original Bugatti design.

A single Type 73 without an engine was shown at the 1947 Paris Motor Show.

The Type 73C models are generally not held in high regard by Bugatti purists. Many of the reasons center on the fact that the chassis's were assembled by a dealer rather than the factory. These 'one-off' vehicles did not have the traditional Bugatti designs plus there are no competition records for these monoposto's.

They remain in history as the final but incomplete creations of the legendary Ettore Bugatti.

by Dan Vaughan

Grand Prix Monoposto
Chassis number: 73002
Engine number: 2

When the Type 73C project came to a close, the unfinished cars were dismantled and all of the parts were placed into storage at Molsheim. Deposits made by customers were returned to the would-be owners. In 1960, one set of components (chassis 73C 001) was acquired by a Brussels-based Bugatti agent named Jean de Dobbeleer and a monoposto body based on proposals for Type 73C coachwork made in 1945 by Bugatti designer, Antoine Pichetto was fitted. After the car was completed, it was quickly sold, prompting de Dobbeleer to return to Molsheim and acquire a second Type 73C (chassis 73002 a.k.a. 73C 002).

The chassis was assembled and then sold sans body to the U.S. via his American agent Gene Cesari. The owner is believed to have been Jerry Sherman of Pennsylvania and in 1969 it was acquired by Erich Richardson, and then by Tom Wheatcroft. While in Mr. Wheatcroft's care, the car was fully restored and was given a copy of the second of Pichetto's 1945 73C body designs, this one featuring a cowled radiator grille.

In 1994, Wheatcroft sold this Bugatti Type 73C to Alberto Lenz of Mexico, who then parted with it in 2002. While in this new owner's care, the car received cycle wings and piano wire wheels and hubs by Crosthwaite & Gardiner. The car was in the care of a Texas-based collection when it was brought to Bonhams auction at The Quail in 2022.

by Dan Vaughan