• Matching chassis and engine numbers
• Known ownership history in UK since delivery
• Owned for almost 50 years by former Bugatti Owners Club President, Barrie Price
• Enthusiastically campaigned

By the early 1930s Ettore Bugatti had established an unrivalled reputation for building cars with outstanding performance on road or track, the world's greatest racing drivers enjoying countless successes aboard the Molsheim factory's products and often choosing them for their everyday transport. Because of its lengthy run of success, Ettore Bugatti remained stubbornly committed to his single-cam engine, only adopting the more advanced double-overhead-camshaft method of valve actuation, after much prompting by his eldest son Jean, on the Type 50 of 1930.

From then on Jean Bugatti took greater responsibility for design, his first car being the exquisite Type 55 roadster. He followed that with a design of equal stature: the Type 57. A larger car than the Type 55, the Type 57 was powered by a 3.3-litre, double-overhead-camshaft straight eight of modern design housed in Bugatti's familiar Vintage-style chassis. The range showed the strong influence of Jean Bugatti and at last gave the marque a civilised Grande Routière to match those of rivals Delage and Delahaye. The Type 57 in all its forms attracted discerning owners who were satisfied only with the best, among them 'speed king' Sir Malcolm Campbell.

The Type 57 attracted coachwork of the finest quality executed in a startling variety of styles but was no mere rich man's plaything, as evidenced by two outright wins at Le Mans. Proof, if it were needed, that ancestral virtues had not been abandoned when creating a car fit to rank alongside Rolls-Royce or Bentley. Its success is revealed by the production figures: some 680 examples of all Type 57 models were produced between 1934 and 1940, and the post-war Type 101 was based on its chassis.

Chassis number '57495' was ordered by Bugatti's London agent, Colonel Sorel, and invoiced on the 5th February 1937. Fitted with engine number '370', the car was delivered as a rolling chassis, registered 'AUK 717', and sold to its first owner, Mr Butler of brewers W Butler & Co of Wolverhampton. The local coachbuilder Charles Clark & Sons Ltd, best known for its work on Rolls-Royces, was commissioned to build a six-light four-door saloon body, as shown in period photographs on file. A more utilitarian body was fitted in the 1940s.

The car stayed in the Butler family until Mr Butler's death in the 1960s when it was sold by his estate with only 13,000 miles showing on the odometer. '57495' was then bought (in 1971) by Margaret Price, wife of Barrie Price, the noted Bugatti collector, former President of the Bugatti Owners Club, and one of the Bugatti Trust's founding members. Known around the Bugatti world for his unfailing dedication to the Molsheim marque, Barrie Price was an engineer who spent over 55 years in the motor industry, acquiring the assets of Lea-Francis after it ceased automobile manufacture. Barrie Price was running a spares, repairs and coachwork business specialised in Jaguars and Bugattis. Around 1980 he had worked with Peter Engelbach in the production of a new Jaguar-engined Lea Francis 'Ace of Spades'.
During these times, he owned some prestigious Bugattis including a Type 35, three different Type 57s and the splendid Type 57SC Atlantic chassis '57591', which later became one of Ralph Lauren's masterpieces.

When Barrie Price took possession of '57495', he decided to restore the car to the condition it was delivered to Bugatti London, as a rolling chassis, while his own company, A B Price Ltd, built the two-seat roadster body in aluminium. From then on, Barrie Price and his Type 57 were regular participants at Bugatti Owners Club events, and other rallies and hill-climbs around the UK and Europe. These included the 1973 and 1974 Prescott hill-climbs; the 1974 International Grand Prix Bugatti in Lyon; and the 1979 International Bugatti Rally at Cheltenham and Harrogate. The car was regularly maintained, in particular by John Underwood of Star Engineering, who carried out an engine rebuild.

In more recent years, the Type 57 has been maintained in working order by specialists such as Star Engineering and Ivan Dutton (invoices on file). In the 2010s, '57495' was used sparingly by another member of the Price family before being sold to a Bugatti enthusiast who carried a colour change and a general overhaul before participating in a Bugatti rally in France.

Represents a wonderful opportunity to acquire the ultimate Bugatti road car, '57495' comes with a known history having played an important role in forging the marque's legacy in Great Britain.

Please note that this vehicle is from outside the UK. Our customs agents, CARS UK, will manage all post sale customs administration. A fee of £350+VAT will be charged on the buyer's invoice to administer both import or export customs movements. If the buyer also chooses to ship with CARS UK, this will be quoted separately. If this vehicle is to remain in the UK, it will be subject to Import VAT at the reduced rate of 5% on the hammer price. This vehicle will not be available for immediate collection after the sale and will only be released on completion of customs clearance formalities. If you have any questions regarding customs clearance, please contact the Bonhams Motorcar Department.