Two Rare Bugattis to Grace Blenheim Palace at Salon Privé

Two rare Bugattis will grace the lawns of Blenheim Palace as part of this month’s Salon Privé Concours. Both equally glamorous and beautiful, the two cars chart very different moments of the marque's popularity. The pre-war Type 57 typified the booming years of Bugatti, whereas the post-war 101 Cabriolet came to be during a downward period as the marque struggled to sustain its image as a top brand. The Gangloff-bodied cars will be just two out of a whole host of unique and special vehicles on display in Oxfordshire across the four days of the event. Let’s have a look at the two Bugattis in further detail…

1934 Bugatti Type 57 Gangloff Stelvio

Brought to the market in 1934, the Type 57 was one of Bugatti’s most popular models, with a total of 710 produced in a variety of guises up to 1940. The Salon Privé model illustrated just how adaptable the T57’s chassis was and having originally been bodied as a saloon, it was transformed into a Selvio-styled open-topped tourer with some design revisions by renowned coachbuilder, Gangloff.

Designed by Jean Bugatti, Ettore’s son, the T57 was advanced for its time, being powered by an inline, eight-cylinder engine. The versatile steel chassis was capable of underpinning anything from a rakish touring body to a four-door saloon. Chassis number 57143, the car at Salon Privé, showed just that. Originally ordered and delivered to its first owner as a Galiber saloon, it passed through one further owner before ending up with Paris Bugatti agent Dominique Lamberjack. He sent it to Gangloff of Colmar to be rebodied and it was close to the Bugatti factory in Molsheim, Gangloff had pretty much become the de facto coachbuilder for the marque. Lamberjack asked the company to mirror the style of the factory’s Stelvio body but with some key differences. Retaining much of the original spec, such as a divided front axle, forward exiting exhaust manifold and solid mounting of engine to chassis, Lamberjack’s car had an ultra-low windscreen and an Art Deco profile which concealed the car’s folded hood.

In the early 1950s, the car was exported to the United States and passed through a succession of owners, before being shown at the Pebble Beach concours in 2003. It eventually made its way back to Europe three years, being exported to Germany before coming to the UK in 2014.

1951 Bugatti 101 Gangloff Cabriolet

After the second world war, Bugatti was experiencing a downward turn in terms of popularity and Salon Privé’s 101 Gangloff Cabriolet, one of only nine such models produced, was part of a plan by Ettore’s son, Roland, to revive the brand.

The 101’s prototype was based on the pre-war Type 57’s chassis and powertrain, with the first two production 101s also being converted from T57s. Six more were produced with all-new chassis in 1951, 1952 and finally 1965, the second of which was Chassis 101501, due to appear at Blenheim this month. However, due to the model’s pre-war engineering, the 101 failed to reignite interest in the Bugatti brand. At the time, most manufacturers were developing new technologies and bringing coachbuilding in-house.

The 101 coming to Blenheim was unique in that it was the only one to be powered by the T57C’s supercharged engine, producing around 200bhp. It received a two-door, four-passenger cabriolet body by Gangloff and had ten owners across France, Germany and the United States including Bagatti collector Gene Cesari. Later purchased by the Walter Grell family of Switzerland in 1988, the car was then acquired by Peter Mullin for the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California.

Salon Privé’s David Bagley is delighted to welcome both cars at this month’s Concours: “It’s seldom that we see two cars from the same manufacturer that paint such a vivid picture of its rise and decline. But even though the 101 model failed to capture public interest in Bugatti, it is a stunning car, and we’re so glad to have it at Blenheim with its pre-war Type 57 sibling.” 

Salon Privé takes place at Blenheim Palace between 30 August and 2 September. Tickets can be purchased at www.salonpriveconcours.com

Words: Mike Booth
Pictures: Salon Privé