Early 20th Century cars are really having a moment right now, and on August 30th there will be no exception! The best of the best of European cars are about to go on sale at Gooding & Company’s London Auction at Hampton Court Palace. If you already fancy them, as the Brits would say, they just opened the arena to register to bid on these insanely cool European autos.
What car is more iconically luxury than the Bugatti? Gooding & Company happens to be putting four of them up for sale from the world-class collection of Jack Braam Ruben. They make quite the quartet!
1935 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante(Estimate: £3,000,000 - £4,000,000)
The Atalante is one of the best things you can hear in the same breath as Bugatti – they are the most distinctive, elegant, and important style possible. This particular one, chassis 57252, was built with a lower steering column angle than most Type 57s, making it super rare, aka one of three. The car was refinished beautifully to the original two-tone “smoke and sage” green color scheme. It underwent a superb restoration by Classic Skills of Lomm, The Netherlands. Confirmed to still retain its original engine, no. 195, this is a crazy chance for Bugatti collectors to find their unicorn.
1933 Bugatti Type 43A Roadster(Estimate: £3,000,000 - £4,000,000)
The Type 43 was built to incorporate all the engineering of the Type 35, the most important prewar Grand Prix Racing car, except with the capacity to be road going. The 43A notably boasted Jean Bugatti-designed roadster coachwork and a supercharged 2.3-litre inline eight-cylinder engine, giving it a whole lot of power. As one of only 10 known surviving examples of the 19 Jean Bugatti Type 43A Roadsters built, it is among the most rare and desirable of all Bugatti automobiles. It also retains its matching-numbers frame, lower crankcase, cambox, gearbox, and rear axle per accompanying history reports by David Sewell, Mark Morris, and Kees Jansen. This particular Bugatti has a gorgeous patina with evidence of the original black and yellow paint across the exterior. With an aluminum dashboard to match, it’s the perfect example of an unrestored beauty!
1934 Bugatti Type 57 Stelvio(Estimate: £900,000 - £1,000,000)
With open coachwork styled by Jean Bugatti and built by Carrosserie Gangloff, no car can go wrong. And this one definitely lives up to the hype. This Stelvio, chassis no. 57181, is in exceptionally original condition, winning Second in Class at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, before moving across the pond to the esteemed Dutch collection of Jack Braam Ruben. It has to be one of the best unrestored examples out there with the patinated original red leather interior and stunning paint scheme. This lovingly preserved time capsule example will be sure to raise paddles.
1938 Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux (Estimate: £550,000 - £650,000)
This Bugatti is one of the very last before the war, making it incredibly historic and significant. It’s one of just 120 Type 57s equipped with Ventoux coachwork and retains its matching-numbers engine per The Bugatti Registry which adds to its rarity. Finished in Gris Deauville (Light Grey) with Havane (Tan) leather, the car originally went to a British agent. Beautifully finished paintwork was applied under current ownership, while retaining some original interior materials. It’s rare that you find a Bugatti with a known provenance from new, making this one extra special. But you could likely already tell how special it is just by looking at it, with the quintessential Bugatti teardrop.
Alfa Romeos
Sure, we’ve shown the Bugattis a lot of love, but we can’t forget about the gorgeous Alfa Romeos coming out of this collection! The 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B ‘Corto’ Cabriolet (Estimate: £450,000 – £550,000) is a perfect open touring car built by the Swiss coachbuilder, Carrosserie Worblaufen. The 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Freccia d’Oro is another beloved Alfa model restored to teal-colored beauty!
In case you’re not planning on flying to England to bid in person at the auction at Hampton Court Palace, you can register to bid online or tune in to the live webcast to watch Gooding & Company’s London Auction. You can also check out more beautiful autos in the online catalogue before they cross the auction block on August 30th!
