Vehicle Description
Year 1937
Make Bugatti
Type Ventoux Sp�cial
Chassis No 57524
Engine No 379
Gear Box No 379
Front Axle No 379
Rear Axle No 379
Completed March 12th, 1937
Ordering Agent Crequy et Cornette Bugatti Lille, France
Original Owner Etienne Pollet-Beghin Nord, France
Mileage 37,700 kilometers
Specifications:
Engine 135BHP 3.3-liter Dual Overhead-Cam, Inline 8-Cylider
Gearbox Four-speed manual transmission in unit with engine
Front Suspension Live Axle with Semi-Elliptic Leaf Springs
Rear Suspension Live Axle with Inverted Quarter-Elliptic Leaf
Springs
Wheelbase 3,300mm / 130 inches
• Fully restored yet highly-original car with matching numbers
• Ex-1937 Lille Fair and Concourse Show Car
• Engine and Gearbox completely rebuilt in 2014
• Unique "one off , tear-drop" style coachwork
• Well-known history with known ownership documented from new
• Inspected and documented by Pierre Yves Laugier and David
Sewell
Bugatti's Type 57 was by all accounts one of the firm's most
successful designs. It was announced in 1933 with production
commencing in earnest in 1934 with the final examples being
finished in 1940. The Type 57 was available with a variety of
in-house and outside Coachbuilder bodies. One of the best known
versions was the Ventoux, a two-door, four-seat design penned by
Ettore's brilliant designer and son, Jean Bugatti. The Ventoux
version was offered as soon as the Type 57 became available in four
distinct series over a six year production run of the model. A
total of 164 different Ventoux models were built. Each was
characterized by a sweeping aerodynamic overall look that featured
the classic "Horseshoe" radiator, long, flowing bonnet and steeply
raked windscreen. Flowing close-fitting fenders front and rear
further complemented the design and gave the vehicle a look of
speed even when standing still.
Chassis No. 57524
This particular Bugatti was the 99th Ventoux of the 164 completed
and other than some very special coachwork, it was a standard 3rd
Series Ventoux. 57524 was given extremely unique coachwork with a
dramatically sloping "teardrop / fast-back" rear end treatment and
thin, full-width, slender "V-shaped" bumpers front and rear that
would remain unique to this particular example. The exterior was
finished in a solid black with "Natural" colored leather interior
and contrasting carpeting and headliner. The design was initiated
as a request for Bugatti to provide a "one-off" show car for the
upcoming 1937 Lille Fair and Concours. According to Bugatti's
records, the vehicle was finished on Friday, March 12th, 1937 and
delivered immediately to the official Bugatti Agent of Lille,
France, Crequy et Cornette. After the show, 57524 was returned to
Crequy et Cornette and offered for public sale. On Wednesday, April
14th, 1937 it was purchased by the first owner, Mr. Etienne
Pollet-Beghin of the Nord region. He road-registered his new
machine on plates "2539 MD 3" which it would wear until after the
war.
This Bugatti was purchased in 1939 by Marcel Heyndrick and one year
later in 1940, it was purchased by Albert Meyer, a prominent
businessman who resided at 51 Av. Raymond Poincar�, Paris, France
in the 16th district. A brass plaque denoting his ownership remains
fitted to the dash of 57524 to this day.) In 1956 this Bugatti, now
registered "2713 EW 75" was photographed near Paris. The photos
show clearly the delicate, full-width "V-shaped bumpers, front and
rear as well as the unique "tear-drop / fast-back" rear coachwork.
Not long thereafter, circa 1957, this vehicle was exported to
Belgium by the legendary Bugatti Collector and Dealer, Jean De
Dobbeleer. (Photographs of this Bugatti appear in the book "The
Bugatti's of Jean De Dobbeleer" by Charles Fawcett.) During the
export/import from France to Belgium, in order to avoid taxes, the
vehicle's original identity as 57524 was temporarily exchanged for
that of "57422" by exchanging the chassis plates and showing the
engine number 310. (Both vehicles re-exchanged identities again
setting the record straight many years later during restoration of
each.) Sometime in 1960, De Dobbeleer sold this Bugatti to the J.W.
Wllsworth Collection in South Africa. It was shipped and remained
there for many years being documented as such by Hugh Conway in his
Bugatti Register of 1962. Just shy of twenty years later in 1981,
the Wilsworth Collection sold this Bugatti to Ennio Gianaroli and
it was reimported back to Belgium. In 2006, it was again sold and
this time passed to Bugatti collector and enthusiast, Albert
Lemaire.
From 2009 until 2013, this Bugatti was given an extensive and very
careful restoration. In 2014, the engine and gearbox were also
given a complete and thorough rebuild. During the restoration which
was fully documented, the vehicle was carefully inspected and
verified as being both highly original and remarkably correct. The
original engine, gearbox, front and rear axles all showing
distinctly the correct "379" original stampings were all found to
still be present. The car was fully vetted by both Pierre Yves
Laugier and David Sewell, respected authorities on all things
Bugatti prior to its last and most recent sale.
A massive and comprehensive documentation album with records,
notes, photos and correspondences covering 80 years of continuous
history and ownership accompanies this incredible automotive
treasure.
It would as such be very difficult if not impossible to find a more
thoroughly documented as well as unique Type 57 Ventoux than 57524.
The unique special coachwork, trim and early show-history of this
Bugatti further separate it from the other more common examples
completed.
