1938 Bugatti Type 57 Gangloff Special Cabriolet
- Engine
- 3,257 cc DOHC inline-eight, 135 bhp
- Colour
- Cream and black
Bugatti Type 57 chassis 57731 is a one-off four-passenger cabriolet bodied by Gangloff of Colmar to a design by Lucien Schlatter, completed in October 1938 and exhibited at the 1939 Geneva Motor Show on the factory stand. Thereafter used as a works demonstrator, it was made available to celebrated Grand Prix driver Jean-Pierre Wimille. After post-war obscurity it passed through the hands of noted Bugatti trader Paul Sac before entering the Quattroruote Collection in 1964, where it remained for over five decades. The car retains its original engine and is documented in multiple authoritative Bugatti registers.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold €660,800 (≈ $727K)
- 1938-10-01 → 1939Factory deliveryBugatti factorypartial documentation
Completed in autumn 1938 and displayed at the Geneva motor show early the following year, then retained as a factory demonstrator assigned to Jean-Pierre Wimille under factory registration plates.
- 1950 →Unrecorded owner(s), registered in Rouen, Francepartial documentation
Early postwar history is absent from records; Bugatti historian Kees Jansen notes a French registration in Rouen circa 1950, with the vehicle later found in the south of France.
- 1963 → 1964Private salePaul Sacpartial documentation
Prominent Bugatti dealer who acquired the car in southern France while it carried black-and-yellow livery and a local registration; sold it on within about a year.
- 1964 →Private saleQuattroruote Collectionfull documentation
Purchased from Paul Sac and held continuously as a centrepiece of the collection for over five decades, an exceptional single-ownership span for a Bugatti of this period.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownJean-Pierre Wimillepartial documentation
Made available to Wimille as a factory demonstrator owing to his status as one of the marque's foremost drivers; formal personal ownership is unclear but use is documented.
Competition
- 193916th Geneva International Motor ShowDisplayed on factory stand
The car was exhibited on the official Bugatti stand shortly after its completion, serving as a showpiece for the coachbuilt cabriolet body.
Maintenance & restoration
- —Restoration
The car underwent a full restoration at an undetermined point, resulting in the current cream-and-black livery; described as an authentic older restoration in presentable cosmetic and mechanical condition.
The chassis number plate shows a later stamping of '731', believed by historian Kees Jansen to have been made very early in the car's life, possibly at the time of or shortly after this restoration.
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