1936 Bugatti Type 57 Stelvio Cabriolet by Gangloff

Details

Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale this magnificent 1936 Bugatti Type 57 Stelvio Cabriolet by Gangloff.

According to the documentation on file, which references the factory records, this car was delivered in July 1936 to Descollas, the Bugatti agency in Marseilles, France. The first owner is noted as a Mr Cremieux. The car passed through subsequent ownership in France and then Switzerland before being sold into Spain, where it was first registered in March 1949. Whilst in Spain, this Bugatti was registered as SS-12743.

The car has a known history in Spain before being acquired by its current owner in early 2017.

Today this car presents beautifully in its striking two tone colour scheme of red and black. Cosmetically it is very well presented and importantly it is mechanically sorted. The interior presents with just the right amount of patina, with what may well be original upholstery.

There is an interesting history file which contains some fabulous period photos of the car, a Spanish newspaper article, a Spanish registration document as well as documentation confirming the cars history from Bugatti Automobiles Heritage Department.

This car is located in New Zealand.

More information and photos to follow soon.

Price AUD $999,950.

Background

Ettore Bugatti was born in Milan Italy on the 15th September 1881. He was part of a very entrepreneurial and creative family. His grandfather was an architect and sculptor, his father a furniture and jewellery designer of some note and other members of the family were sculptors and artists. Ettore was obsessed with the evolution of the automobile and in 1898 he built his first car as a teenager. Over the next ten years he built a number of cars, however, it wasn’t until the 1st January 1910 that he founded Automobiles Ettore Bugatti in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace. Bugatti started building cars in earnest and the Type 13 is today considered to be the first real Bugatti. The First World War proved to be temporary roadblock for Bugatti and once the Treaty of Versailles was signed on the 28th July 1919 it was ‘back to work’! Following the War, the region of Alsace became part of France and Ettore Bugatti lost no time in refocussing his energy on automobiles. At the last minute, Bugatti was able to obtain a stand at the 15th Paris Motor Show held in October 1919. He exhibited three light cars and not surprisingly all of them were closely based on their pre-war equivalents. Each model was fitted with the same overhead camshaft 4 cylinder engine of 1,368cc capacity with four valves per cylinder. The three cars were the Type 13 (built on a 2,000 wheelbase), the Type 22 (built on a 2,250 mm wheelbase) and the Type 23 (built on a 2,400 mm wheelbase).

The Bugatti name soon became synonymous with high performance cars. Their road cars were purchased by the rich and famous and their race cars dominated on circuits all around the world. By the mid 1930’s Ettore Bugatti’s son, Jean, was effectively running the factory overseeing the production of the cars, whilst Ettore spent most of his time in Paris. Times were good, however, things changed quickly and when Jean Bugatti was killed road testing a Type 57 race car in August 1939 it was the beginning of the end. The Second World War broke out shortly thereafter and the Bugatti factory was essentially destroyed and seized. The War ended in September 1945 and attempts to restart the factory were ultimately futile. Ettore Bugatti died in August 1947. A handful of cars were built from 1945 through until the original incarnation of Bugatti ceased operations in 1952.

Models such as the Type 35, the Type 41 (Royale), Type 57 and Type 59 have become legendary and are amongst the most desirable cars ever built.

One of Bugatti’s most significant cars was the Type 30 that was introduced in 1922. The Type 30 was powered by the same 1,991 cc engine used in the Type 29 race car. It shared its chassis, axles and gearbox with the Type 13 Brescia. Around 600 examples were built from late 1922 through until 1926 in varying specifications. Over the next 12 years the Type 30 evolved spawning other models, including the Type 38, Type 40, Type 43, Type 44 and Type 49. These models all featured Bugatti’s 8 cylinder inline engine of varying capacities and some with superchargers.

The Bugatti Type 57 was introduced in 1934, effectively replacing the Type 49. It was essentially a new car and it was powered by a double overhead cam version of Bugatti’s 3,257cc 8 cylinder inline engine. The Type 57 was Bugatti’s ultimate pre-war road going model and it was a great success for Bugatti with a total of 710 examples were built before production ceased in 1939. The model was offered with the standard engine that produced some 135 hp as well as a supercharged version that offered in excess of 160 hp. The cars were offered with five different body styles, being the Galibier (four door, four seat sedan), Stelvio (two door, four seat cabriolet), Aravis (two door, two seat cabriolet), Ventoux (two door, four seat coupe) and the Atalante (two door, two seat coupe). The cars were bodied in house by Bugatti as well as some of the world’s leading coachbuilders, including Gangloff, Vanvooren, Graber, Corica and Vanden Plas.

Bugattis of this era are today recognised as some of the most beautiful cars ever built, charcterised by the most elegant art deco styling.