£9m Bugatti to go up for auction
The Type 57 is prized for its combination of voluptuous styling, high luxury, and race-bred underpinnings. It featured a high-tech "surbaissé" low-slung chassis to lower the centre of gravity, a Grand Prix-bred 3.3-litre engine capable of 200bhp, and a dry sump system to help maintain lubrication during cornering.
Sir Malcolm Campbell once said of the model: "If I was asked to give my opinion as to the best all-round super-sports car which is available on the market today, I should, without any hesitation whatever, say it was the 3.3 Bugatti. It cannot fail to attract the connoisseur or those who know how to handle the thoroughbred. It is a car in a class by itself."
This particular example, chassis number 57541, ordered new in 1937 by George Rand, Bugatti's New York agent, and features a four-seat Sports Tourer body by Vanden Plas. It passed through a succession of protective owners, and is well known in Bugatti circles. Today, Bonhams describes the vehicle as being in "impressive mechanical, structural and cosmetic condition".
The Type 57SC will go under the hammer at Bonhams' Amelia Island sale on March 10. Also expected to attract interest at the sale are a Mercedes-Benz 540K and a Ferrari 275GTB/4.
Source: £9m Bugatti to go up for auction - The Telegraph
