1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports in Timewarp Condition Could Fetch $13.3 Million

The model and year of this Bugatti alone would be enough to command a steep price, but this car is even more special than that. Covered in scratches and scars, and with noticeable patina, it is in timewarp condition, attesting for its impressive racing history and select ownership.

This is the Bugatti Type 59 that, fitted with engine no. 5, was part of the Bugatti works Grand Prix team during the 1934-1935 seasons, according to the listing on Gooding & Company, which will auction it next month. Raced by René Dreyfus, it won third place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix and first place at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.

After this, this Type 59 was stripped of the supercharger and transformed for sports car events: a new dry-sump gearbox was added, the chassis and bodywork were revised, and the vehicle was rebranded as chassis 57248. During the 1937 season, it was driven by Jean-Pierre Wimille to great success.

The next year, this Bugatti was retired from racing and sold to King Leopold III of Belgium, an aristocrat with excellent taste in automobiles and a penchant for the fastest ones. It went through four other owners before the current listing, but it has never been restored.

In addition to the timewarp condition, this Type 59 comes with 3,257 CC DOHC inline 8-cylinder engine delivering 250 BHP at 5,000 RPM, twin Zenith carburetors, 4-speed dry-sump manual gearbox, and 4-wheel cable-operated mechanical drum brakes. It is, according to the auction house, one of the most original and significant Bugattis in existence today.

“The ultimate evolution of the Bugatti Grand Prix car, the mythical Type 59 is both a technical marvel and a masterpiece of industrial art – a model considered by many to be the most elegant prewar racing car,” the listing says.

As such, this 1934 Bugatti Type 59 is expected to fetch in excess of £10,000,000, which is roughly more than $13.3 million at today’s exchange rate.