An exceptionally rare 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante, the existence of which had only been known to a handful of people during the past 50 years, will be sold at Bonhams Retromobile sale in Paris today.
This highly significant car, originally owned by Earl Howe, is conservatively estimated to fetch more than NZ$7 million and has just been restored after languishing almost untouched for half a century.
Bugatti Type 57S, chassis No 57502, was found covered in dust in a barn but more or less untouched since the day it was last parked there.
The car originally rolled out of the Bugatti factory on May 5, 1937, sporting two-seat Atalante coupe coachwork.
It was ordered new by the first president of the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC), Earl Howe, via the British Bugatti agent, Sorel of London.
Howe took delivery of 57502 on June 9, 1937, and retained it for more than eight years.
The car would have seen relatively little use during World War II as Howe served with the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve.
After hostilities ceased, the T57S was sold through Continental Cars to a J P Tingay in 1947.
M H Ferguson bought the Bugatti from Tingay in 1950 and by 1954 it formed part of Lord Ridley’s collection.
Harold Carr acquired it in 1955 from Lord Ridley and drove the car for the first few years. But in the early 1960s it was parked in his garage where it remained until his death in 2007.
The T57S is being sold on behalf of the family of Carr, and will be offered with an extensive file of correspondence documenting its fascinating history.
It even has what appears to be a remarkably low mileage, with an odometer reading of just 26,284.
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