Gregor Wenner
Specialist Consultant
LOT 137
1927 Bugatti Type 40 'Grand Sport' Roadster Chassis no. 40347 Engine no. 406
Sold for €402,500 inc. premium
Lot 137
Mille Miglia participant 2008
1927 Bugatti Type 40 'Grand Sport' Roadster
1927 Bugatti Type 40 'Grand Sport' Roadster
1927 Bugatti Type 40 'Grand Sport' Roadster
Chassis no. 40347
Engine no. 406
Chassis no. 40347
Engine no. 406
• Delivered new in France
• Single family ownership from circa 1945-2005
• Present ownership since 2005
• Professionally restored 2005/2006
• A many-time international rally participant, including Mille Miglia
"Bugattis encapsulate concepts of engineering which, once seen, change your ideas radically and definitively. Drive them, and you realise that each car is form and engineering in equilibrium, and a work of art." – William Stobbs, Les Grandes Routières.
By the early 1930s, Ettore Bugatti - 'Le Patron' - 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. Bugatti's origins, though, were a far cry from the glamorous world of Grands Prix.
Italian-born engineer Ettore Bugatti had learned his trade with De Dietrich, Mathis and Deutz before setting up his own factory in 1910 at Molsheim in Alsace, which was then part of Germany. While with Deutz he designed the Type 10, its number reflecting his nine previous designs, and this would serve as the prototype for the first Molsheim-built Bugatti: the Type 13. Introduced in 1910 and the first Bugatti production car, the Type 13 was powered by a four-cylinder, single-overhead-camshaft, 8-valve engine of 1,327cc, which drove via a four-speed gearbox and was mounted in a short-wheelbase chassis carrying a simple open two-seater body. Making its debut at the 1910 Paris Salon, the Type 13 was described by The Autocar as a "most delightful looking runabout".
Developed from the first Bugatti to be built at Molsheim - the aforementioned Type 13 of 1910 - the Type 13 Brescia took that name following the factory's first four places at the 1921 Italian Grand Prix for Voiturettes, held at the eponymous racetrack in Lombardy. Longer wheelbase Type 22 and Type 23 models were made, both of which used the single-overhead-camshaft 16-valve Brescia engine and were built alongside 8-valve Petit Pur Sang versions.
Introduced in 1926, the Type 40 Bugatti succeeded the Brescia types, being built on a longer wheelbase and equipped with a more powerful engine. Virtually identical to that used in the Type 37 Grand Prix car, the latter was a four-cylinder unit displacing 1,496cc and incorporating an all-plain-bearing bottom end with five mains. A single overhead camshaft operated three valves per cylinder (two inlets, one exhaust) and the Type 40's maximum power output of 45bhp or thereabouts was transmitted to the rear wheels via a separate four-speed gearbox. A total of 830 Type 40s had been made when production ceased in May 1931, with a further 40 Type 40As completed with the 1,627cc engine by the end of that year. It is estimated that fewer then 200 survive today.
This Bugatti Type 40, chassis '40347', was delivered new to the Bugatti showroom in Paris. Its first owner later sold the Type 40 to the Bugatti agent in Toulouse, who sold it on in 1945. The Bugatti would remain with the family of a former Peugeot dealer in Beauvais in the Oise region of northern France from then until 2005 when it was purchased by our vendor.
The Bugatti was in very poor condition when acquired; its Vanvooren cabriolet bodywork was no longer salvageable, so it was replaced with a 'Grand Sport' body built by the Touraine restoration workshops. Strictly original, the chassis and all mechanical components were dismantled and carefully restored. Engine rebuilding was entrusted to the specialized Novo workshops, and involved fitting a new crankshaft and cylinder block. A more modern intake pipe and carburettor were fitted also, contributing to a superior performance. The removed components - cylinder block, crankshaft, intake pipe and carburettor - will be included in the sale.
Following the restoration's completion, a FIVA Identity Card was issued on 17th December 2006 and since then the Type 40 has taken part in numerous international rallies. The car is offered with French registration papers and the aforementioned FIVA ID Card.
• Single family ownership from circa 1945-2005
• Present ownership since 2005
• Professionally restored 2005/2006
• A many-time international rally participant, including Mille Miglia
"Bugattis encapsulate concepts of engineering which, once seen, change your ideas radically and definitively. Drive them, and you realise that each car is form and engineering in equilibrium, and a work of art." – William Stobbs, Les Grandes Routières.
By the early 1930s, Ettore Bugatti - 'Le Patron' - 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. Bugatti's origins, though, were a far cry from the glamorous world of Grands Prix.
Italian-born engineer Ettore Bugatti had learned his trade with De Dietrich, Mathis and Deutz before setting up his own factory in 1910 at Molsheim in Alsace, which was then part of Germany. While with Deutz he designed the Type 10, its number reflecting his nine previous designs, and this would serve as the prototype for the first Molsheim-built Bugatti: the Type 13. Introduced in 1910 and the first Bugatti production car, the Type 13 was powered by a four-cylinder, single-overhead-camshaft, 8-valve engine of 1,327cc, which drove via a four-speed gearbox and was mounted in a short-wheelbase chassis carrying a simple open two-seater body. Making its debut at the 1910 Paris Salon, the Type 13 was described by The Autocar as a "most delightful looking runabout".
Developed from the first Bugatti to be built at Molsheim - the aforementioned Type 13 of 1910 - the Type 13 Brescia took that name following the factory's first four places at the 1921 Italian Grand Prix for Voiturettes, held at the eponymous racetrack in Lombardy. Longer wheelbase Type 22 and Type 23 models were made, both of which used the single-overhead-camshaft 16-valve Brescia engine and were built alongside 8-valve Petit Pur Sang versions.
Introduced in 1926, the Type 40 Bugatti succeeded the Brescia types, being built on a longer wheelbase and equipped with a more powerful engine. Virtually identical to that used in the Type 37 Grand Prix car, the latter was a four-cylinder unit displacing 1,496cc and incorporating an all-plain-bearing bottom end with five mains. A single overhead camshaft operated three valves per cylinder (two inlets, one exhaust) and the Type 40's maximum power output of 45bhp or thereabouts was transmitted to the rear wheels via a separate four-speed gearbox. A total of 830 Type 40s had been made when production ceased in May 1931, with a further 40 Type 40As completed with the 1,627cc engine by the end of that year. It is estimated that fewer then 200 survive today.
This Bugatti Type 40, chassis '40347', was delivered new to the Bugatti showroom in Paris. Its first owner later sold the Type 40 to the Bugatti agent in Toulouse, who sold it on in 1945. The Bugatti would remain with the family of a former Peugeot dealer in Beauvais in the Oise region of northern France from then until 2005 when it was purchased by our vendor.
The Bugatti was in very poor condition when acquired; its Vanvooren cabriolet bodywork was no longer salvageable, so it was replaced with a 'Grand Sport' body built by the Touraine restoration workshops. Strictly original, the chassis and all mechanical components were dismantled and carefully restored. Engine rebuilding was entrusted to the specialized Novo workshops, and involved fitting a new crankshaft and cylinder block. A more modern intake pipe and carburettor were fitted also, contributing to a superior performance. The removed components - cylinder block, crankshaft, intake pipe and carburettor - will be included in the sale.
Following the restoration's completion, a FIVA Identity Card was issued on 17th December 2006 and since then the Type 40 has taken part in numerous international rallies. The car is offered with French registration papers and the aforementioned FIVA ID Card.
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