Lord Raglan's 1933 Bugatti Type 51 Up for Grabs

The Bonhams' Paris sale of Motor Cars on February 5, 2011, will include the 1933 Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix Two-Seater owned by the late Fitzroy John Somerset, the 5th Baron Raglan (1927-2010), Patron and former Chairman of the Bugatti Owners' Club and trustee of the Bugatti Trust, the auction house recently announced.

"My passion for Bugattis started when I was 18 and I have raced around the world," Lord Raglan once said, while Andrew Roth in Lord Raglan's obituary in The Guardian wrote: "If Bugatti-worship were a religion, then the atheist Fitzroy Somerset, the 5th Lord Raglan, would have been its pope."

In 1998, following in the footsteps of Ettore Bugatti and Earl Howe, Lord Raglan was elected as only the third Patron of the Bugatti Owners' Club in its 80-year history, upon his retirement from the position as the club's Chairman.

Lord Raglan bought this Bugatti Type 51 in 1979 and restored it himself over the next two and a half years, subsequently racing it for the next 20 years. It is now expected to sell for an estimated EUR1,000,000 – 1,400,000 (GBP800,000 - 1,150,000).

Also the property of Lord Raglan, the sale will offer his 1930 Bugatti Type 46 Cabriolet, with coachwork by Figoni, estimated at EUR250,000 – 300,000 (GBP200,000 – 250,000).

"We feel privileged to have been appointed to offer these magnificent Bugattis with such well-known provenance. Lord Raglan will be forever linked to the Bugatti marque and his cars have only come to market following his death. They will undoubtedly attract a great deal of interest from collectors world-wide," stated James Knight, Group Head of Bonhams Motoring Department.