After being lost or at least ignored since the 1960s, this 1934 Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux comes to market for the first time since 2008, presented here by Gooding Christies for the 2025 Pebble Beach auctions August 15 – 16, 2025. That reminds me, I need to get my hotel reservation (maybe next year). While a novice might assume modern Bugatti supercars are Italian, the Blue de France hints that Bugatti are, in fact, French. Oui oui! The popular Ventoux coachwork, done in-house by Jean Bugatti, gives seating for four in a sporty two-door: the best of everything! G-C estimates a gavel drop in the range of $250,000 – $325,000. Bid to win this No Reserve auction, but only if you plan to do something useful with this neglected beauty.
Minimalist seating reminiscent of the Citroën 2CV leaves enough room for les enfants or what Southerners call “crumb snatchers” in the back, or a couple of friendly gymnasts. You can tell this was a barn find by the all-important authentic dust.
The stylistically distinct bustle looks perfect for holding a picnic basket and the apparently missing spare tire. I’m no Bugatti expert, but there might be room for some pork rinds and a six pack in the front fender nacelle too. Handy! Indeterminately described as “may not be currently operational,” the Bugatti seems poised for popping the clutch on this four-speed and uncorking the 135 HP 3.3L straight eight, polluting this photo shoot with doughnut dust at redline. Probably not, but it’s fun to imagine. Sacre bleu!
The elegant DOHC 8 must prove delightful and satisfying in this 2100 lb French fry. Don’t worry, friends; your local parts store has everything needed to get this clunker back in action. Absolutely not.
Symmetry defeated functionality on the simple dash. Hold my beer while I crank up this pressure washer and blast that dust off. Despite documented ownership by caretakers in France and America, two nations that drive on the right side of the road (with controls on the left), the steering column and pedals appear resolutely on the right. Nevertheless, assume this cherished antique will delight its new owner in controlled environments where RHD’s more of a novelty than a safety risk. I could never take this car to bare bones for a complete restoration. How often do you see a tidy, never-restored pre-war Bugatti? In what will probably become a white-glove flip, we’ll see this beauty back on the auction block with new parts replacing perfectly decent old parts and every hint of personality erased. Sigh. How would you enjoy this too-long ignored Bugatti?
Needs an LS. Not really, but what a strange proposition. Can’t even wrap my head around it. The potential value. What it looks like. How much attention it needs. Just wow
Mon dieu!
All Bugattis built by the original company founded by Ettore Bugatti (not the revivals by Romano Artioli and VW) were right hand drive. This is common among French and Italian luxury cars before ww2 despite the cars travelling on the left (Ex: Talbot-lago, Hotchkiss, Isotta Fraschini, Delahaye, Alfa Romeo…)
The logic was that rhd makes it more convenient to judge were the road ends and keep the car away from the kerb.
…or perhaps more importantly, away from the sharp drop-off where the road ends along narrow and primitively-paved mountain passes.
Great mac! Thanks for that great information. I will remember it until I forget if!
Thanks for the info Macvaugh.. especially about the RHD. I always wondered about it and thought maybe it was because by doing it the driver would be (or maybe just feel) safer being close to the center line as opposed to being on the edge. but it does give one the ability to see the center track and probably makes it easier to stay on it, or close to it anyway, so your explanation makes sense.
Not just luxury cars. All Lancia (I know that includes some luxury cars, but also Augusta, Aprilia and Ardea) cars until about 1954 were RHD. I think there was a snob element to the custom, as well.
I’d do the same thing with this as a 1934 Ford in the same condition, get it into good mechanical shape, touch up the paint on the roof but leave everything else original and use it the way it was meant to be driven.
All I gotta do is hit the Powerball jackpot between now and the auction…
For a car that is so elegant and expensive the seats do n̈ot look very comfortable
Like a chaise lounge
Looks like it just needs cleaned up a bit. They’re only original once, best to just clean it up and get it running. I suppose it matters what barns you poke around to find something like this. The barns in my neighborhood are more likely to hold John Deere than Bugatti.
What’s with the hits to us southerners,Todd? Crumb snatchers,pork rinds? BTW,I grew up in Boston 40 years ago.And, we Floridians can,t really be classified as southerners, anyway.PS,I,m glad you called it a French fry.Made me feel a little better,but I think I heard a little racism showing through. LOL
Hey, TC. I’m a pasty white dude living south of the Mason-Dixon line who enjoyed some pork rinds last week, and “crumb snatchers” is one of my favorite colloquialisms. I re-read the piece and with respect I disagree that merely mentioning these things is inherently negative. I do enjoy the juxtaposition of pork rinds, doughnuts, Bugatti, and Pebble Beach, but I have great respect for all of those things. This is a gorgeous classic that deserves to be seen and driven, and my silly attempts at humor were included with tongue firmly in cheek. Thanks for reading the article and happy motoring! -Todd
Now that’s a true barn find, no offense to someone finding a 77 Volare under a pile of crap but…
Same exterior color combo sold a few years ago. Sold at auction for ~$450K USD, but everything is present and looking fine. Don’t think you can find the missing parts, do a mechanical refurbishment and sympathetic cosmetic restoration for the difference! https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/26125/lot/111/1934-bugatti-type-57-ventoux-coupe-chassis-no-57119-engine-no-34/
That rev counter goes beyond 8,000 RPM! No red line. How fast could they spin? And the speedo goes to 200, I presume that that’s Km not miles!
Three bearing crankshaft, I believe!
Roller bearing crank too.
It’s definitely going to need the “Summer’s Eve Treatment.” A little too exotic for the likes of me but I sure wouldn’t kick it off my driveway. A person might have his work cut out for him, trying to explain to the neighborhood crowd (who think that the original sportscar is a Toyota Supra) that Bugatti is a real name and that the car really is NOT a VW with one of those fancy bodies attached…
Regarding comments re the position of the steering wheel, it was also the heritage of the pre-motorized traffic era. Regarding Etore and his equally gifted brother, they were born Italian so the initial comment in the article is not too far off. Family of mine had one of these 57’s and regarding the seats, I sometimes went on Bugatti-club organized week-long trips, you can drive one of these for hours without any discomfort. The understressed 8 cylinder plays a role in that. The Mont Ventoux was by far the most common body style.
By strange coincidence a friend bought an equally complete and original Ventoux last week. I still haven´t seen the car in the flesh but it is much more “patinated” than this one. Paint is irrecoverable, nor can the interior be used as it is.
For this “Barn Finds” Ventoux, preservation seems like the best option. Although a survivor, it presents beautifully, the interior is excellent and the car would be an interesting addition to a line up of shiny rebuilt Bugattis,
In the case of my friend´s Ventoux, you could keep as it is but the only place it could go would be a museum. At a long stretch, it could be made mechanically perfect at huge expense and put back on the road as is, but that would be impractical and what would be the point? To do so would be celebrating the neglect it has suffered over the years, rather like finding a magnificent horse or dog in terribly neglected shape and keeping it that way because “that is its history”. It seems to me rather like slowing to watch a car wreck……
So my friend bought his car to restore and will no doubt be persona non grata in certain circles…..
Is restoring the exterior and leaving the interior original a viable option?
Not from the photos I´ve seen. Most of the hide is missing.
i8, my fav.
DOHC? 3 roller bearing crank? WoW.
Yes, polish, get the spare on the rear. (Referbish the interior?) & drive~