Sleeping Beauty Bugatti Type 57S Makes £4 Million At Bonhams Auction
A rare Bugatti Type 57S sells for more than £4 million at Bonhams Legends of the Road auction. The car’s discovery and inclusion in the sale attracted much interest, 1937 Bugatti Type 57S At Bonhams Legends Of The Roads Sale. The 1937 Bugatti Type 57S was stored in a workshop for some 50 years. This was a rare opportunity to acquire an exceptionally original condition example.
The sale price of £4,047,000 is somewhat less than the estimate, but these Bugattis are never going to be cheap and £4 million is still an awful lot. The Bugatti was a significant discovery since its removal from the workshop or Bill Turnbull in North Staffordshire.
One of only 42 Type 57S produced it is believed that the chassis was is one of the lightweight ones. One of three of the works ‘Tank’ streamliner sports cars used in the 1936 Grand Prix season.
The Bugatti led a 100% sell through rate for the auction. Over £7 million in total was taken for the sale, the Type 57S responsible for more than half of that. The sale taking place at the New Bond Street saleroom on the 19 February 2021.
Sholto Gilbertson, Director, Bonhams Motor Cars UK, said: “This sleeping beauty was certainly one of the most important pre-war Bugattis – and possibly the last hidden example – to be auctioned in recent years, with other 57S Bugattis already in museums or known collections.
The 75S offers an exciting opportunity for its new owner to complete Bill Turnbull’s ambitious and exacting restoration.”
The other top seller at the auction was a dismantled restoration project 1960 Aston Martin DB4GT fetching £1,975,000. This exceeded its pre-sale estimate and was won in an eight way telephone battle.
