To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' Amelia Island event, 8 - 9
March 2019.
Estimate:
$1,250,000 - $1,600,000
- One of four cars used by the 1933 factory team of Varzi,
Dreyfus, and Williams
- Former 17-year ownership by Bugatti collector extraordinaire
Peter Mullin
- Documented with FIVA passport and full report by Bugatti
historian David Sewell
- Well-known example prepared for vintage racing and event
use
- Striking example of Bugatti's dual-overhead cam classic
Introduced in 1931, the Bugatti Type 51 was the latest iteration of
the company's time-honored two-seat race car design that originated
with the Type 35. Utilizing the engine architecture Ettore Bugatti
licensed from Harry Miller's successful Indianapolis race cars, the
Type 51 featured a dual-overhead cam version of the supercharged
straight-eight, now enlarged to 2.3 liters. Though the Type 51
struggled in competition against newer and more technologically
advanced state-sponsored machines from Italy and Germany, the model
was a long-term success with marque enthusiasts and vintage racers.
Approximately 40 examples were ultimately built through 1934, and
they are considered the apogee of Bugatti's most celebrated race
car design.
Claiming important competition history and documented with a
comprehensive report by independent Bugatti historian and author
David Sewell, this Type 51 is a well-sorted example ideal for event
use and historic racing. Chassis no. 51153 is recorded in factory
records of April 1933 as the first of a batch of five Type 51s
slated for build. The car was prepared for use as a Works entry for
the 1933 season, amply clarified by numerous repair notes regarding
engine teardowns and rear axle ratio changes.
On 4 July 1933, the Type 51 was registered to Automobiles Ettore
Bugatti of Molsheim and served as a factory race and test car for
the following nine months. As racing entries were not generally
tracked by chassis number at the time, it is difficult to
unequivocally distinguish one factory car from another, but it is
believed that 51153 likely participated in several important races
while driven by the famed Ren� Dreyfus.
At the Belgian Grand Prix on 9 July 1933, Bugatti entered three
Type 51 examples, driven by Achille Varzi, Dreyfus, and William
Grover-Williams, who finished 2nd, 3rd, and 6th, respectively. At
the Dieppe Grand Prix six days later, Dreyfus placed 2nd while
Williams' car retired early. As drivers often retained the same car
throughout the season, it is reasonable to assume that Dreyfus
drove 51153 to his 2nd-place finish at the Nice Grand Prix on 6
August and at the Coppa Acerbo in Pescara the following week. The
car may also have been driven by Dreyfus at the Czechoslovakian
Grand Prix on 17 September, where the Frenchman finished 4th.
Following the 1933 season the Bugatti was mechanically overhauled
by the factory, including the fitting of an extremely rare
rear-axle ratio, 11 � 55, the only recorded use of such a ratio in
Bugatti racing history. As conjectured by Mr. Sewell, this
high-torque low-speed ratio may have been intended for the Monaco
Grand Prix on 2 April 1934, where Pierre Veyron finished 9th in a
Type 51.
In early April 1934, the Type 51 was mechanically renewed again by
the factory in preparation for sale. On 13 April it was invoiced to
Giovanni Alloatti, a resident of Turin. Alloatti entered his new
Type 51 at the Targa Florio on 20 May, but unfortunately was out of
the race by the second lap following an accident. The Bugatti
returned to the factory for further repairs, and this may be the
point at which the car's current frame, no. 256, originally for a
Type 35, was installed as presently configured.
In December 1936, the Type 51 was imported to England by Jack Lemon
Burton. After being domiciled during the early war years, 51153 was
sold in 1942 to Allan Arnold, scion of the coachbuilding concern
Arnold of Manchester. Upon the war's conclusion, Arnold began
modifying the Bugatti for sprints and hill climbs, replacing the
coachwork with a lightweight two-piece body with cycle wings,
presumably designed and built at the Arnold coachworks.
The Bugatti was then entered at various events in northern England
over the next two years, setting a best time at Shelsley Walsh
during two appearances, racing Prescott three times, and Brighton
once. In early August 1947 the car set a course record of 14.8
seconds at the Hartlepool quarter-mile sprint. Through 1949
additional modifications were undertaken that included the
installation of an ENV pre-selector gearbox, Newton telescopic
shock absorbers, externally actuated Lockheed hydraulic brakes, and
dual external exhaust pipes. Racing at sprints at Weston-super-Mare
and Queensbury, Arnold also experimented with a two-stage
supercharger from a Type 50.
In May 1950 Arnold sold the Bugatti to J. Wilkins, who reinstalled
the original gearbox, and attended the Nottingham Sports Car Club
meet at Gaston in 1951. Chassis 51153 next passed to J.M. Pratt,
the owner of a garage near Brampton, before being acquired by Jim
Barry of Heywood, Lancashire. Around 1959 chassis 51153 was
imported to the U.S. and offered by New York's Vintage Car Store,
now clothed with a bobtail racing body formerly used on chassis
51152.
Hugh Conway's seminal 1962 Bugatti Register shows that the car was
next owned by Lynn Mayfield of La Jolla, California, and in 1963
Mayfield sold the car to the well-known marque enthusiast Raymond
Jones, of Michigan. Jones reportedly purchased 50 Bugattis in the
aftermath of Conway's important register, second only to the
Schlumpf brothers' acquisition spree. Chassis 51153 was the fourth
Bugatti that Jones acquired during this period, and in 1967 he sold
the Type 51 to his friend and fellow Michigan resident Ernest
"Jack" Nuttle, who sought to restore the car.
As many mechanical components were no longer in perfect order,
Nuttle traded several to Jones for fresher substitutes handpicked
from other Bugattis in his stock. For this reason, many of the
original elements, including the engine and chassis frame, were
eventually installed by Jones onto one of his other projects. (This
other chassis was later purchased by Lord Raglan in the late 1970s
and eventually built into a well-known race car in Great Britain.)
Available on file is the extensive report compiled by Bugatti
historian David Sewell that details the history and composition of
this Bugatti, known as the "Nuttle" Type 51. This includes
correspondence from Sewell to then owner Peter Mullin and
well-known Bugatti restorer Jim Stranberg that the car retains its
original chassis plate which is affixed to the original
bulkhead.
Mounted with faithful recreation coachwork, 51153 completed
restoration in 1973, and Nuttle used the car for some 10 years
before selling it to Bob Shaw of Antioch, Illinois. Acquired by the
esteemed collector Bill Jacobs in 1986, the Bugatti subsequently
passed to Peter Giddings and then Joe Masin of California before
being sold in 1994 to preeminent marque collector Peter Mullin.
Acquired by the consignor in 2011, this Type 51 possesses the most
legitimate claim as the authentic 51153, despite that the "Raglan"
Type 51 bears many of this car's original components and has often
been identified with this chassis number. According to Sandy Leith,
the registrar of the American Bugatti Club, "The Nuttle T51 [this
car] contains the single most important element of chassis 51153;
that of continuous history. Whatever parts came and went over the
course of its lifetime prior to the ownership of Raymond Jones and
...for more information please contact the seller.
