1933 Bugatti Type 51

Served as a factory works and test entry during the 1933 grand prix season; mechanically overhauled twice by the factory before preparation for sale.

Turin resident who took delivery via factory invoice and entered the car at the 1934 Targa Florio, after which it was returned to the factory for accident repairs.

Imported the car to England in December 1936; it was stored during the early war years.

Heir to the Arnold coachbuilding firm in Manchester; extensively modified the car for sprint and hillclimb competition, adding lightweight bodywork and various mechanical upgrades through 1949.

Reinstalled the original gearbox and attended at least one club motorsport event in 1951.

New York dealership that offered the car after its US import; at this point it wore a bobtail body sourced from another Bugatti chassis.

La Jolla, California owner listed in the 1962 Bugatti Register compiled by Hugh Conway.

Prominent Michigan-based Bugatti collector who reportedly amassed around 50 examples following publication of Conway's register; this was his fourth acquisition in that period.

Michigan resident who undertook a full restoration completed in 1973, trading some original mechanical components back to Jones; used the car for roughly a decade after restoration.

Antioch, Illinois owner; no activity during tenure recorded in the prose.

Described as a distinguished collector; sold the car to Peter Giddings thereafter.

California owner who sold the car in 1994.

Leading Bugatti collector; correspondence from historian David Sewell to Mullin regarding the car's provenance is preserved in the file.

Acquired from Mullin in 2011; the car holds a FIVA passport and is presented in race-ready condition.

California-based owner; brief tenure between Jacobs and Masin.

Operated a garage near Brampton; no dates or activity recorded during tenure.

Heywood, Lancashire-based owner prior to the car's export to the United States around 1959.

Bugatti fielded three Type 51s; Varzi placed 2nd, Dreyfus 3rd, and Grover-Williams 6th. This chassis is believed to have been Dreyfus's mount.

Dreyfus finished runner-up; co-entrant Grover-Williams retired early. Chassis attribution is presumed based on driver continuity.

Held at Pescara the week after the Nice Grand Prix; chassis attribution remains presumed rather than confirmed.

Attribution to this chassis is conjectural, based on the assumption that Dreyfus retained the same car throughout the season.

Dreyfus finished fourth; attribution to this specific chassis is speculative.

The unusual rear-axle ratio fitted during winter overhaul is conjectured to have been installed specifically for Monaco's low-speed demands; chassis attribution is not confirmed.

New owner Alloatti entered the car shortly after purchase; post-accident factory repairs may have resulted in the current Type 35 frame being fitted.

Set in early August 1947 under Arnold's ownership with the modified bodywork configuration.

Attended by Wilkins after reinstalling the original gearbox following his 1950 purchase.

Competed on three occasions; precise dates not stated in the prose.

Single appearance at Brighton; no result detail provided.

One of several northern England events contested with the lightweight modified body; exact years are within the 1945–1947 period.

Competed with additional modifications including a two-stage supercharger; dated broadly to the late Arnold ownership period.

Another sprint venue used by Arnold following further mechanical development of the car.

Factory overhaul following the 1933 season, including installation of an exceptionally rare 11×55 rear-axle ratio — the sole documented instance of this specification in Bugatti racing history — possibly in preparation for a low-speed circuit.

Historian David Sewell suggests the ratio was likely fitted for the 1934 Monaco Grand Prix.

Accident damage sustained at the Targa Florio repaired at the factory; at this point the car's current frame, number 256, originally from a Type 35, is believed to have been fitted.

Frame swap is conjectural but consistent with factory repair practice of the period.

Further factory mechanical renewal carried out in early April 1934 to bring the car to a saleable condition prior to invoicing to Alloatti.

Series of upgrades including an ENV pre-selector gearbox, Newton telescopic dampers, externally operated Lockheed hydraulic brakes, twin external exhaust pipes, and experiments with a two-stage supercharger sourced from a Bugatti Type 50.

Modifications completed through 1949 under Arnold's ownership.

Original gearbox reinstalled by or for new owner Wilkins after acquisition in May 1950.

Full restoration completed under Nuttle's direction, fitting faithful period-style replica coachwork; many mechanical components were exchanged with fresher units sourced from Jones's stock of Bugattis, while the original chassis plate remained affixed to the original bulkhead.

Work was initiated by Nuttle following acquisition in 1967; the Sewell report on file covers the scope and composition of this restoration.

Original coachwork replaced by a lightweight two-piece body with cycle wings, likely designed and fabricated at the Arnold coachworks, in preparation for sprint and hillclimb competition.

Work carried out after Allan Arnold acquired the car in 1942.