Photo copyright and courtesy of Gooding & Company. Image by Peter Singhof.
Four historic, noteworthy Bugattis from the renowned collection of Jack Braam Ruben of Maastricht, The Netherlands, are now available at Gooding & Company. August 30, 2024, sees the Gooding & Company — a leading global auction house and market leader worldwide, return to Hampton Court Palace as the auction’s official partner. This collection features an award-winning, unrestored Bugatti Type 57 Stelvio, a show-quality Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux, one of the oldest surviving examples of the Bugatti Type 57 Atalante, and an exceptionally well-preserved and patinated Bugatti Type 43A Roadster.
Jack Braam Ruben is widely recognised within the vintage automotive industry as one of the foremost traders and collectors of classic and prewar cars in the world. David Gooding, president and co-founder of Gooding & Company commented, “…he has an especially keen sense for the most significant examples from the Bugatti and Alfa Romeo marque”.
LUXUO takes a deep dive into the range of original Bugattis ahead of their auction display on the historic grounds of Hampton Court Palace.
1935 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante (Approximately: GDP 3,000,000 – GDP 4,000,000)
Photo copyright and courtesy of Gooding & Company. Image by Peter Singhof.
The Atalante is undoubtedly among the Bugatti Type 57’s most appealing and prominent models. The chassis 57252 was built in November 1934 as a first series Grand Raid chassis, featuring a lower steering column angle compared to a standard Type 57. The factory bodied the car in early 1935 with an initial plan to finish in Grand Raid roadster coachwork but was later completed with Jean Bugatti-designed Atalante coupe coachwork. This was the third chassis of that type to have this configuration. With the intention of producing just ten Atalantes in 1935, this very early edition features a gorgeously tapered tail section that makes the car appear lighter and more athletic.
This was accomplished through the inclusion of rear fenders sweep out behind the wheel openings, and convex wheel covers with unique hand-formed teardrop forms, giving the vehicle a delicate and tapered look that is absent from later Atalantes. Of these ten Type 57s, only three are known to remain today. Chassis 57252 was the third to get Atalante coachwork.
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The car comes with a storied past. Its first owner was Mr Perrot, a Bugatti agent called Monestier in Lyon. Futhermore, for the following two decades, it would pass through several hands, before being sold back to famed Belgian Bugatti restorer and dealer Jean de Dobbeleer in Brussels in 1956.
In 1957, Lyman Greenlee, a collector of Bugatti vehicles, exported the Atalante to the United States. Eventually, the car would return to Europe, arriving in Peter Rae, UK, and Guido Artom, Italy. Mr. Rae accurately restored the car to its original specs, including the installation of Lalique-style running lights atop the fenders and Scintilla headlamps. Prior to 57252 entered Mr Braam Ruben’s collection in 2019, that was located in the United Kingdom. The Dutch collector ensued the Classic Skills of Lomm, Netherlands, a Bugatti specialist, to complete a comprehensive restoration. The dashboard and bumpers returned to its original place, interior was reupholstered, and the exterior was refinished in its original two-tone smoke and sage green colour scheme.
With its visually striking early design, the well-restored and historically significant Type 57 Atalante is confirmed to have its original engine still, no. 195, per documents on file, offering a unique opportunity for any discriminating Bugattiste and collector.
1933 Bugatti Type 43A Roadster ( Approximately: GDP 3,000,000 – GDP 4,000,000)
Photo copyright and courtesy of Gooding & Company. Image by Peter Singhof
The Type 43 and its offspring, the Type 43A, were designed to be road-going equivalents of the Bugatti Type 35— the most prominent and successful Grand Prix racers before World War II. A Type 43A denoted a vehicle with roadster coachwork built by Jean Bugatti, whilst a conventional Type 43 was fitted with grand sporting coachwork. The 43A mechanical setup consisted of a 2.3-litre inline eight-cylinder supercharged engine which as derived from the Type 35B that won the race. Of the eighteen Type 43As that Bugatti had constructed, less than ten are known to exist today. Delivered new to Edouard Michel of Paris in May 1934, this Type 43A, chassis 43309 is the penultimate chassis number and would remain in Europe for the next forty years.
During this period, it was exhibited at the Le Mans Museum and the renowned Montlhéry Motor Museum, both owned by Serge Pozzoli. The Bugatti was purchased by prominent German historian and collector Uwe Hucke sometime in 1978. Hucke owned it for nine years before Dr Joachim Jantzen of Essen acquired it and drove it in several historic driving competitions.
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Subsequently, 43309 was added to Manfred Dolleschel’s collection. Dolleschel entered Type 43A in the 2004 UK International Rally and the 2009 Tuscan International Rally. More recently, 43309 was displayed at the 2013 Concours of Elegance at St. James’s Palace and the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance after the Pebble Beach Motoring Classic. Beautifully patinated in two tones of grey, this Type 43A retains faint traces of its original black and yellow paint across its exterior. According to an accompanying report by marque authority Mark Morris, many significant original parts still remain, such as its original engine, stamped number 106, semi-roller bearing crankshaft, and most of its original leather upholstery.
An aluminium two-piece dashboard replaces the typical wooden one. Its intricacies exquisitely designed, moving all gauges from the dash centre to a panel around the steering column, allowing unhindered access to the magneto ignition in the centre. As for the astute collector, the 43309 offers an unparalleled chance to enjoy what is considered to be among the finest specimens of the Type 43.
1935 Bugatti Type 57 Stelvio (Approximately: GDP 900,000 – GDP 1,100,000)
Photo copyright and courtesy of Gooding & Company. Image by Peter Singhof.
When this 1935 Bugatti Type 57 Stelvio cabriolet, chassis 57181, was finished, it featured a light-coloured soft-top hood and an engine number of 30. After being delivered to France, the vehicle was later purchased by a Swiss owner after World War II. It was later sold to David Mize in the US during late 1960s when it was in remarkable original condition and covered only 27,000 kilometres. Mize, a genuine enthusiast of Bugattis, went on to lead the American Bugatti Club as its president. Afterwards, Dutch-born American collector John Risch purchased the Stelvio; in 1968, with the automobile winning Best in Show at the New Hope Automobile Show in Pennsylvania. Mr. Risch was the devoted owner of 57181 for many years, keeping it for several decades.
In 2016, it was witnessed that the 57181 finished the Tour d’Elegance and competed in the Prewar Preservation class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, where it took home the Second in Class title. Before the arrival of Stelvio to Mr Braam Ruben’s prestigious collection in the Netherlands, in 2018 it served as a display at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. The Stelvio is unquestionably one of the best-unrestored examples still in existence, with an exquisitely patinated original red leather inside that is exquisitely complemented by a subdued two-tone colour scheme of black and maroon.
1938 Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux (Approximately: GDP 550,000 – GDP 650,000)
Photo courtesy of Gooding & Company. Image by Peter Singhof.
This Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux, chassis 57724, was built near the conclusion of the assembly line in October 1938 on a Series III rolling chassis with engine no. 523 before the impending war forced manufacturing to halt. The automobile was owned initially by L.W. Young in 1940 after being sold by British agent Colonel Sorel. It had a factory-finished Gris Deauville (grey) body with Havane (tan) leather. Before transferring ownership to H. Archer-Smith, who is believed to have won the Bugatti Owners’ Club Taylor Trophy with the Ventoux in 1958, it had been previously owned by Mr Young for ten years. The Ventoux was given to John Frears in 1972, which he then put on exhibit at the Stratford Motor Museum.
In 1982, 57724 was purchased by Geoffrey Perfect, a reputable and devoted Bugatti collector from Penn in Buckinghamshire. Mr Braam Ruben, who would eventually add the car to his collection in 2021, became enamoured with it during his ownership. Throughout its existence, this remarkable, show-quality Type 57 Ventoux—whose origin is known—has been exhibited on some of the most esteemed occasions. These include the Concours d’Elegance Paleis Soestdijk in 2022, Techno Classica Essen in 2019, and the Earls Court London Motor Show in 1989.
Along with the aforementioned Bugatti’s, the official auction partner of the annual Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace will put up other selections from the Jack Braam Ruben Collection for sale.
Details for the London Auction are as follows:
Date: Friday, 30 August at 15.00 BST
Location: Hampton Court Palace, UK
Viewing Days: Thursday-Friday, 29-30 August
For Concours of Elegance Ticketing Information, click here: https://concoursofelegance.co.uk/tickets/
Click here for bidder registration: www.goodingco.com/register
The Live Auction will be broadcast on: www.goodingco.com
Contact: +1.310.899.1960
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