Bugatti 57 Ventoux Series 1 SOLD!


Price:
On request
Performance
135 BHP
Year
1934
Colour
Blue
Interior
Havane

Technical data

Make
Bugatti
Type
57 Ventoux series 1
Year
1934
Capacity
3257cc
Cylinder number
8
Performance
135 BHP
Transmission
Cotal 4 Speed
Colour
Blue
Interior
Havane

Description

This original series 1 type 57 closed Ventoux is the first Ventoux ever made and is the only T57 equiped with an off-factory softtop. The T57 has a continuous provenance and comes with a fully documented inspection- and provenance report of the highly respected Bugatti expert Kees Jansen, the author of several Bugatti Registers. (the Dutch Belgian Registers- 4 volumes and the fourth volume of the American Bugatti Register) Included with the car is the FIVA card with a domination A3 (Original/restored).

History:
the series 1 rolling chassis 57119 with engine 34 was produced in March 1934. It had been ordered on March 7 as one of the first 57 orders by a close friend of Jean Bugatti, Jerome Wagner. The order was delayed and the factory made Coach Ventoux body, designed by the factory employee Joseph Walter with Havane coloured leather was finished in June 1934. It had a open roof and three hinges for the doors. The adjustable shock absorbers which were only available as a option for the early types 57 were also fitted to the car. This car has the splitted front axle which was a prototype axle only fitted to the first 6 cars or so. As said the 57 was sold straight from the company to Jerome Wagner, a brewer in Mutzig, dated on 2 June 1934 in the factory books. He already registered the car in Strasbourg as 7372-NV2 on 14 May 1934. He drove the 57 for five years until 11 July 1939 when it was sold to Dr. Pierre Muller in Strasbourg, so it kept its license plate. In 1949 the 57 was sold to garage Waeffler, also in Strasbourg. It was then sold to Henri Meurdra in 1950, a true Bugattiste and trader in Bugattis. The family of Henri Meurdra used the car for a wedding in 1950 or 51. On 14 June 1951 the car was sold to Paris and registered 1175 AK 75 by the new owner Geo Lepere. He sold the 57 in 1959 to Phillippe Berlin in Neuilly-sur-Seine who reported it to Hugh Conway for inclusion in the second and third Bugatti World Register. The next owner was Philippe Charbonneaux. In 1965 the 57 was sold to the Bugattisti brothers van Ramhorst. They drove the car to Holland and restored it. The 57 was registered in Holland as FS-68-84 in 1965. The 57 was a participant at many meetings of the Bugatti Club Nederland and also at the 1975 International Bugatti Rally held in Holland. In 1984 the 57 was sold to France and registered 6967 TL 67. The 57 ended up with Bernard Merian, a succesfull French entrepreneur who also owned the Bugatti Atalante 57432. He again embarked on a restoration and asked the help of the son of the first owner Roland Wagner, president of La Fondation Bugatti, in order to have it restored to its Original state and colour. He sold the 57 in 1993 to Patrick Friedli, a very staunch Bugattist registered as 967 ZM 67. When he moved to Beaune in 2008 he registered the car as 1738 XV 21 in the Cote dÓr. Patrick Friedli used the car for several occasions, one of the most important was that this 57 was used to drive Francois Rinaldi to the church for his wedding with Caroline Bugatti in 1998. Patrick owned the 57 for almost 20 years when he decided to sell it to Bugatti trader Bruno Vendiesse, who sold the 57 to the present owner.

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