Rare Bugatti Type 51 Up for Auction

A new world record price is likely to be fetched by a rare vintage grand prix racing Bugatti at the upcoming Sports & Classics of Monterey auction. The event, taking place on August 14, will see RM Auctions offering a 1931 Bugatti Type 51 Works GP car for grabs, considered one of the finest surviving models of its kind.

Bugatti historian David Sewell comments that chassis 51132 is “a remarkably complete and original car and there is no doubt to its authenticity.”

The vintage car raced in 17 European Grand Prix events, fitted with a 185 hp, 2,262 cc DOHC supercharged inline eight-cylinder engine, Zenith carburetor, four-speed manual transmission, front semi-elliptic springs, rear quarter-elliptic inverted springs, live axle and four-wheel mechanical brakes.

Complete with its original bodywork, engine and gearbox, the car in question is likely to fetch £2.9 million in the sale, making it the highest price ever paid for a grand prix racing Bugatti. The car is being sold by a British private collector who had paid the current world record sum for a Type 35 Bugatti two years ago, at £2.5 million.

“Many of our clientele have been disgruntled with the anxiety caused by the wild fluctuations in the world stock markets, and while the past two years have demonstrated that ‘blue chip’ stocks can be reduced to zero, serious depreciation in rare car values has never happened,” said Dan Warrener, car specialist at RM Auctions.

“Rare collector cars, like fine art, have increased in value dramatically in the past decade. Many price records have been broken in the past two years, while more traditional investments have gone down.”