1935 Bugatti Type 57 Roadster by Worblaufen goes to the Monterey Peninsula in California, USA, August 19 – 20 for RM’s Monterey sale, where it is estimated to achieve between $1,000,000 – $1,200,000. A rare car with chassis number 57260 is one of only ten Bugatti Grand Raid roadsters built and one of just two examples bodied by Carrosserie Worblaufen in Switzerland.
The car was specially commissioned by flamboyant Swiss collector, Mr. Jules Aellen. It was completed just in time for Aellen and his wife to show the car at the second Concours d’Elegance at Montreux on Lake Geneva in Spring 1935, where it won the Grand Prix d’Honneur. The roadster remained in Switzerland – in and around Geneva – well into the 1950s. From there it went to France before an American collector finally acquired the car in 2000 and commissioned its complete restoration over an 18-month period.
With no expense spared, the Worblaufen archives were referenced to ensure absolute correctness, as was the existing Montfort sister car. In 2005, the car was invited to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where it secured 2nd in Class. [RM Auctions]
