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Centenary Celebration For Bugatti Type 35 At Salon Privé Concours
One of the world’s most successful and best-known pre-war racing cars, the Bugatti Type 35, will be marking a century since its birth at this year’s Salon Privé Concours presented by Aviva Private Clients. The Type 35 will be the centrepiece of Salon Privé’s Bugatti – From Grand Prix to Grand Touring class, and represented by one of the marque’s pinnacle models: a blown Type 35 B – in this case, the sixth ‘B’ produced, and a highly original matching-numbers car.
Another highlight of the class – and a perfect counterpoint to the Type 35 B racer – will be an award-winning example of Bugatti’s most successful models: the Type 57. A former Pebble Beach Best-in-Show car, the four-seat Cabriolet is set to wow audiences with its elegant lines and interesting history. There will, of course, be other stand-out entries in the class - a Type 38 Philadelphia by Figoni and a Type 55 by Gangloff have already been confirmed – making it a must-see for anyone attending the Blenheim Palace event.
The Bugatti Type 35 was originally launched at the 1924 French Grand Prix powered by a two-litre, naturally-aspirated ‘straight-eight’ engine. Successive derivatives went on to win over 1,000 races in their day, including five consecutive Targa Florio victories. It also took the unofficial Grand Prix World Championship in 1926 and was driven by legendary drivers like Tazio Nuvolari and Louis Chiron.
Key to the car’s remarkable success was its lightness and durability. Superbly engineered, its inline eight-cylinder engine’s crankshaft ran in needle- and roller-bearings, giving it a ceiling of 6000rpm, and even in basic form, an output of 75hp. The Type 35’s chassis was similarly advanced. Its forged and hollowed front axle weighed just 10kg, and its distinctive eight-spoke cast alloy wheels, with their detachable rims and integral brake drums, helped reduce unsprung mass, gifting the Bugatti remarkable handling prowess.
The Type 35 T arrived two years later with a longer cylinder stroke upping engine displacement from 1991cc to 2262cc. Then came the Type 35 C with a Roots-style three-lobe supercharger boosting power of the original two-litre engine to 128hp. But the ultimate incarnation was the most potent too. Combining the larger 2.3-litre engine and the C’s supercharger, the Type 35 B’s power rose to 140hp, increasing its top speed to 215 km/h (133mph). And it’s this model which will be the undoubted star of Salon Privé’s Bugatti – From Grand Prix to Grand Touring class.
Originally ordered as a regular Type 35 (chassis #4797) in November 1926 by Dutch lawyer Dr Johannes Last from The Hague, it was soon revised to that of a Type 35 B with chassis number changed to #4888. Last requested his car be delivered in full Grand Prix trim with only lights and stowage added for road use. He never raced it but swapped it for a Type 43 A roadster in 1931.
The Journey of Chassis #4888
The car then passed through several hands before being sold to Frenchman Maurice Anguenot who returned it to Molsheim for upgrades. After brief ownerships in Strasbourg and London where it got its first UK registration 'LMF961', it ended up with Louis Giron who competed in various club events setting a precedent for future owners.
Kenneth Neve bought it in 1957 undertaking significant rebuilds before selling it twice more until Baron d’Huart kept it for nearly five decades in Belgium. Sold by Bonham in 2022 after sympathetic restoration retaining original components; it's now ready for Salon Privé showcasing.
The Glamorous Bugatti Type 57
Launched in 1934 as one of Bugatti's most popular models with total production reaching around seven hundred ten units till nineteen forty; powered by inline eight-cylinder engines displacing three thousand two hundred fifty-seven cc featuring twin overhead camshafts part-spherical combustion chambers epitomising advanced engineering designed mostly Jean Bugatti son Ettore versatile steel chassis underpinning anything four-door saloon exotic-looking four-seat cabriolet exactly how specified new example ordered local agent Muller Cluzel Mulhouse client André rolling chassis delivered April nineteen thirty-nine sent renowned coachbuilder Saoutchik Neuilly-sur-Seine Paris bodied two-door four-seat Cabriolet restrained rakish lines perfect proportions mesmerising audiences Blenheim Palace alas no records early life surfaced Paris nineteen fifty-seven owned Gaston Docime spotted US serviceman Lieutenant Douglas Walling purchased shipped back Great Falls Montana next owner Arthur Smith keen buy traded Beechcraft airplane passed through further US owners landing Jack Becronis full restoration between nineteen eighty-three eighty-five completion entered nineteen eighty-five Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance won Best Show new owners Jacqueline Claire Head Robert Lee moved Nevada appeared Meadowbrook Concours d’Elegance nineteen ninety-two once more Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance twenty twelve Robert Lee kept passing twenty sixteen display Antique Firearms Automobile exhibition
A Celebration at Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace will host Salon Privé Concours on August twenty-eight twenty-nine two thousand twenty-four marking its nineteenth anniversary year featuring exclusive Bugatti class including competition touring models tickets available https://www.salonpriveconcours.com/
Quote from Andrew Bagley Concours Chairman Salon Privé "Salon Privé is delighted showcase Bugatti Type thirty-five renowned pre-war race cars centenary year legendary drivers like Nuvolari Chiron wheel force reckoned today original matching numbers cars rare hugely desirable Type fifty-seven Saoutchik joining perfect foil thirty-five graceful lines sense opulence representing class shaping Mecca Bugatti aficionados"
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