The Bugatti name is quite possibly the most respected brand in automotive history, there aren’t that many original Bugattis in private hands and it’s fairly rare to see one on the auction block, especially a T54.
It may be a little controversial but I don’t personally count the new Veyron as a Bugatti, not in the true sense of the word, if you look at the real Bugattis designed by Ettore Bugatti in the first half of the 20th century you’ll see what I mean. They have nothing in common once you move past the horseshoe front grill.
This T54 Special is expected to fetch between $90,000 and $150,000 NZD at the Webbs auction on the 22nd March (2011), that works out to about $65,000 to $108,000 USD. It is possible to bid online, should you happen to have the required clams and a Bugatti sized hole in your garage.
The first Type 54 was built in only 13 days, and immediately engaged in the Italian Grand Prix. In spite of problems with the brakes, the driver brought it home third. Developed in response to the trend toward larger engines for longer racecourses, T54 racing cars were very powerful, but heavy and difficult to handle.
Only ten T54s 52 were produced by the factory; six of these were sold between January 1932 and May 1934. By the end of 1934, the factory had five original cars and five remained in private hands.
Via Webbs
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
