The Bugatti Owners’ Club and The Bugatti Trust at The Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show present The Magnificent Type 57 Bugattis – November 9th to 11th 2018 NEC Hall 1 Stand 325
For 2018 The Bugatti Owners’ Club and the Bugatti Trust, will jointly be displaying a selection of very rare and unique Type 57 and Type 57S Bugattis. The Type 57 was Bugatti’s last successful touring car before the end of the factory and, although carrying over much of Ettore’s engineering thinking, developed over the previous 20 years, it was exquisitely designed by his talented son, Jean, although Ettore may have vetoed some of the younger man’s avant garde thinking.
The Type 57 was both a technical and commercial success for Bugatti at a time when selling luxury sporting cars was not easy. Le Mans victories in 1937 and 1939, using versions of the Type 57 developed for sports car racing, must have helped but the stylish, Jean Bugatti designed bodies would have been an important influence on sales. The bodies had names related to mountain passes including Galibier for the four-door saloon, Ventoux to the semi-streamlined two door saloon, Stelvio for the drophead and the Atalante for the two-seater coupé. Most distinctive of all was the Atlantic, an art deco teardrop shape with riveted fins down the centre of the body and the wings, it was perhaps Jean Bugattis masterpiece but no more than four were built, all on the Type 57S chassis. Built by the Bugatti Factory between 1936 and 1938, the Type 57S model was a high-performance version of the 3.3 litre 8-cylinder Type 57. The S stands for ‘Surbaissé’ (French for lowered) and refers to the model’s lowered and short chassis.
THE CARS:
The Type 57 and 57S Bugattis on display include the ex-Lord Howe Type 57S, the ex- Ronnie Symondson Corsica bodied Type 57S, and a Vanvooren coach-built Type 57S. Since there are only four Type 57Ss in this Country, to have arranged for three to be on display is remarkable. Also on the Stand will be a Drophead Type 57 with James Young Coachwork and the Type 57 with Figoni style “Shah of Iran” coachwork, eye-catchingly spectacular. Joining the Bugatti Type 57s celebrations are the Anne Itier Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix car, (8 Cylinder, twin cam supercharged) and the special bodied Mme. Itier Type 51/ 38A roadster both rarely seen in this Country.
Bugatti T51/38A Roadster ©Matt Howell
The Bugatti Owners’ Club, which was formed in 1929, had been running Hill Climbs on various dusty loose-surfaced courses in the south of England since 1931. It was about 1936 when the committee moved that the Club really needed to have its own course – the objections of local residents to the existing venues were getting stronger all the time, it seemed that the ‘unique sounds’ of un-silenced Bugattis on a Summer’s afternoon, was not what local residents wanted! In 1938 the Club moved to its present home at Prescott Hill Climb near Cheltenham, now a state-of-the-art motorsports facility.
2019 sees the Club’s 90th Anniversary with several celebration events planned. This special year expects to see a display of 90 Bugattis at the annual La Vie en Bleu weekend taking place at the end of May as well as a fantastic exhibition developed in conjunction with The Bugatti Trust. Look out for more information soon.
The Bugatti Trust Museum and Study Centre will showcase a focused part of its 2018 exhibition dedicated to ‘Ettore Bugatti, Engineer, Designer, Inventor’ which links with the Governments 2018 educational campaign to encourage more children to consider engineering as a study and career path. The Trust is an independent charity with educational aims and objectives dedicated to the study of the works of Ettore Bugatti and preservation of the heritage of the marque. A Cotswold Heritage Gem based at Prescott Hill Climb, The Bugatti Trust Museum and Study Centre is open all year round to visitors interested in cars, art and design, engineering, the world of the Bugatti family and more specifically Ettore Bugatti.
Young visitor discovering the Chiron exhibition at The Bugatti Trust
Artist Stefan Marjoram teaching how to draw Bugattis
KEY FACTS: The Bugatti Trust Museum & Study Centre
For all
The permanent historic exhibition celebrating Ettore Bugatti includes original Bugatti racing cars as well as examples of his exquisite engineering and design genius. The display includes sculptures by Rembrandt Bugatti, celebrated animal sculptor and furniture by Carlo Bugatti as well as artefacts from the family and racing memorabilia. Each visitor receives a personal introduction to The Bugatti Trust and Bugatti by a member of staff and hands on information during the visit with access to videos and a digital kiosk. Annual thematic exhibitions focus on specific members of the family, different Bugatti Types, Works’ drivers and mechanics.
For children
Welcoming the junior visitor: Children under the age of 16 in the company of an adult come in for free and are invited to do a visual detective quiz. During special events the Trust runs free STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts and Maths) workshops. These might be learning how to draw a vintage Bugatti with wonderful artist Stefan Marjoram, some fun science experiments with the fab educators from Cheltenham Science Group (CSG) and more… See website for details.
Unique Historical Archives
The Bugatti Trust was founded in 1987 by the late Hugh Conway supported by a small group of Bugatti enthusiasts. The original archives were based on his remarkable collection of historic material and now include 27,000 technical drawings, 10,000 photographs and thousands of historic documents made available for academic and educational research.
Educational Outreach and Membership
Annual membership to The Bugatti Trust is under £50 and offers free year-round admission, invitations to special members’ events, preferential rates for photographs, drawings and selected publications. There is also a regular academic printed newsletter and a seasonal e-bulletin about the Trust’s activity programme. The overall aims and objectives are to enthuse the next generation of engineers and designers whether automotive or other. Contributions, donations and legacies received allow the Bugatti Trust to maintain this active educational outreach programme. In 2018 the Trust was able to support Bath University’s Formula Student Team TBR, Gretton Science Day, Team Control Freaks from VEX Robotics CSG, Tewkesbury School, the Mischa Black Awards and more.
For more information, please contact: Angela Hucke, Tel.: 01242 677 201 info@bugatti-trust.co.uk