1927 Bugatti Type 35B
- Engine
- 2.3L inline-eight, supercharged
- Colour
- Bugatti blue
Chassis 4888 is a matching-numbers 1927 Bugatti Type 35B with an unusually well-documented early history. Originally ordered as a Type 35T, the engine was supercharged at the factory in April 1927 before delivery to Dutch lawyer Dr Johannes Last in The Hague, who kept it until 1931. The car passed through French, British, and European ownership and has remained in a single private collection since 1975. Its engine incorporates a sump from one of the two Type 51 prototype units assembled in 1930, adding further technical significance.
Ownership
- 2022-05-13Auction saleSold €2,000,000 (≈ $2.2M)
- 1927-05-01 → 1931Factory deliveryDr Johannes Lastfull documentation
Delivered by road from Molsheim to The Hague with temporary plates in May 1927; a second transit with new temp plates followed in July 1927, likely after factory servicing. Last sold the car back to the factory when he acquired a Type 43A roadster.
- 1931 → 1935Private saleMaurice Marcellin Anguenotfull documentation
Purchased from the factory for 13,000 francs per factory used-car records. Likely sold the Type 35B around October 1935 when he acquired a supercharged Type 46S with special coachwork.
- 1935 → 1938-02-01Private saleBugatti factoryfull documentation
Car returned to factory after Anguenot's ownership; during this period a new sump from a Type 51 prototype engine was fitted before the car was resold in February 1938.
- 1938 → 1941Private saleJack Lemon-Burtonfull documentation
Bugatti dealer based in northwest London who imported the car to the UK and advertised it for sale in motoring press from mid-1938 through at least April 1939; UK registration LMF 961 was issued on 9 April 1941.
- 1938-03-01 → 1938Private saleHenri Meurdrafull documentation
Registered the car as new in Strasbourg on 19 March 1938; engineer and dedicated Bugatti enthusiast who owned 11 Bugattis over his lifetime. Reportedly sold the car the same year.
- 1941 →Acquisition unknownLouis Gironpartial documentation
Former Bugatti Molsheim apprentice who had settled in England; used the car in the first post-war VSCC trial in February 1946 and was an active Bugatti Owners' Club member from May 1946.
- 2026-05-28 → 2026-05-28Private saleRoy Kingfull documentation
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Competition
- 1946-02-03VSCC Marlow TrialDriver: Louis Giron
First post-war competitive outing for the car; contemporary press reported gears jumping out mid-run after which the driver restarted without assistance.
Maintenance & restoration
- 1927ModificationBugatti factory
The original Type 35T engine was converted at the Bugatti factory to Type 35B specification, with a supercharger added and new pistons fitted to 26mm, built to match the configuration of engine number 114.
Conversion recorded in factory documentation dated 15th April 1927.
- 1927ServiceBugatti factory
The car was returned to Molsheim from the Netherlands and dispatched again to the German border at Kehl, suggesting a mechanical service was carried out at the factory.
Evidenced by temporary export plates issued between 9th and 14th July 1927.
- 1938MechanicalBugatti factory
A new sump unit numbered 202B, originating from one of the two Type 51 prototype engines assembled in September 1930, was installed in the engine before the car was sold in February 1938.
The crankshaft number for engine 202B is not recorded in factory documentation; it featured 37mm high pistons.