Monterey 2016, Preview #4
As Monterey Car Week 2016 approaches, with just under a month to go, we present another highlight. The Bonhams Quail Lodge Auction enters its 19th year and has been the site of numerous record breaking auctions.
Mention "Bugatti" around most petrol heads and you think of the Veyron, perhaps even the new Chiron. Maybe, if you're a little long in the tooth you remember the EB110. Long before Bugatti was known as the maker of insane hypercars that broke records on the track and in the wallet, they built Grand Prix cars that raced in the 1930s. This year, the Bonhams auction at the Quail Lodge will feature a car that hasn't been seen publicly for over 20 years.
The 1931 Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix Two-Seat Racer driven by Tazio Nuvolari and owned by Lord Howe, the one time president of the British Drivers Association.
Photo Courtesy of Bonhams
Campaigned in the national color of British racing green with Howe's distinctive blue and silver stripes along the side of the bodywork, the GP racer was also visually notable by its large fuel filler caps fitted from its earliest days. In addition to Nuvolari, Taruffi and Howe himself, the car was also piloted in period by The Hon. Brian Lewis and Clifton Penn-Hughes.
The successor to the legendary Type 35, the Bugatti Type 51 is famous in its own right, but also has a fascinating link to American engineering by way of the Miller racecars. Ettore Bugatti was so impressed by Harry Miller's twin-cam engines that he traded three of his own Type 43 cars for two Miller 91 cars. Bringing them back to his factory in Molsheim, Bugatti had them dismantled, learned of their technology, and then built his own version. Thus the Type 51 was born.
As ever with Bugatti, the aesthetics in every form compliment the incredible power of this American-inspired, Franco-Italian supercharged 2.3-liter twin-cam racecar. The result is a highly dynamic and potent sculpture of beauty capable of producing 160hp and a speed of 130mph.
Never publicly offered for sale, in the present ownership for more than 30 years, unseen publicly for more than 20 years, and with just two owners since the 1950s, this Bugatti is one of the finest examples in existence.
Event Details:
- Event: Bonhams Quail Lodge Auction
- Sale Date: Friday, August 19, 11am
- Preview Days: Wednesday-Thursday, Aug. 17-18, 9am-6pm
- Venue: Quail Lodge & Golf Club
- Location: western lawns of Quail Lodge at intersection of Rancho San Carlos Rd and Valley Greens Dr.
- Entry: $20 – gallery guide, admits one; $100 – full catalog, admits two; $150 – bidder registration, catalog, admits two.
- Website: bonhams.com/quail
- E-mail: info.us@bonhams.com