M. Rengnez, Paris, France (acquired circa 1946)
François Lecorche, Clermont-Ferrand, France (acquired circa early 1960s)
Jacques du Montant, Limoges, France (acquired from the above circa February 1971)
Minuro Kawamoto, Japan (acquired circa 1971)
Peter Giddings, California (acquired circa 1983)
Robert Marceca, New York City, New York (acquired from the above)
Richard McBride, Fairfield, Connecticut (acquired circa 1995)
Current Owner (acquired from the above in 2017)
Coachwork by Labourdette
Chassis: 49534
Engine: L423
One of the Most Sought-After Models of Ettore Bugatti’s Brilliant Touring Cars
Masterfully Executed One-Off Coachwork by Henri Labourdette
Matching-Numbers Example per Factory Records Referenced in Laugier Report
Concours-Winning Restoration by D.L. George Historic Motorcars
Fascinating Ownership History Befitting this Bespoke Type 49
3,257 CC SOHC Inline 8-Cylinder Engine
Single Schebler Updraft Carburetor
85 BHP at 4,000 RPM
4-Speed Manual Gearbox
4-Wheel Cable-Operated Drum Brakes
Front Solid-Axle Suspension with Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs
Rear Live Axle with Quarter-Elliptical Leaf Springs
The successor to the popular Type 44, the Type 49 was, in many respects, the final evolution of the traditional Ettore Bugatti touring car and one of the finest automobiles of its era. None other than Hugh Conway, the famed marque authority, writes in his book, Bugatti: Le Pur-Sang des Automobiles that “many experienced Bugattists believed that the finest of all touring Bugatti cars was Type 49.”
Introduced in 1930, the Type 49 was a classic Bugatti design, featuring a narrow chassis frame, cable-operated drum brakes, four-speed gearbox, and a beautiful single overhead camshaft, nine main bearing, threevalve- per-cylinder straight-eight engine. For the Type 49, Ettore Bugatti devised a new, twin-plug ignition system and enlarged the engine’s bore and stroke, increasing displacement to 3,257 cc. These updates resulted in an immensely capable high-performance touring car, with a top speed approaching 100 mph in standard trim.
According to a report by renowned Bugatti historian Pierre-Yves Laugier, the Type 49 offered here, chassis 49534, was assembled in September 1932. Factory records note delivery by train from Molsheim to Paris on January 6, 1933, outfitted with a long chassis and Bugatti aluminum wheels, as found on later-model Type 49s. The chassis was sold new through Parisian Bugatti agent Dominique Lamberjack to Charles Drouilly, a millionaire, French hat manufacturer, yachting enthusiast, and bon vivant who was the vice commodore of the Motor Yacht Club de la Côte d’Azur. Mr. Drouilly’s extravagant lifestyle included a string of marriages to socialites and young models, and ownership of the famous Château de Boutemont in Ouilly-le-Vicomte.
Mr. Drouilly’s love of fast boats and fashion most certainly influenced his choice of coachbuilder for 49534, as Henri Labourdette’s firm had long pioneered lightness and aerodynamics in their open car designs. From its tiny showroom at 35 Avenue des Champs Élysées, Labourdette sold their bespoke coachwork to racers and royalty alike. Customers included race car driver René de Knyff and Alphonse XIII, the former king of Spain.
Upon its reveal in spring 1933, the skiff-bodied 49534, whose shape historian Mr. Laugier likened to a speedboat, appeared in the May–June issue of L’Auto Carrosserie and was presented at a May concours organized by the Chambre Syndicale des Carrossiers. The car appeared again in the June issues of La Carrosserie and Automobila. It was reported that the Labourdette coachwork cost 15,000 French francs. Mr. Laugier’s fascinating report, which is included with the sale, traces the history of this unique Bugatti through war and peacetime, through fortunes made and lost, across continents, and around the world, with stops in premier collections and the hands of notable enthusiasts. It is further accompanied by historic photographs and documents from the Bugatti Trust Archive.
The current owner, a prominent collector of European classics, commissioned a 2019 restoration by D.L. George Historic Motorcars of Cochranville, Pennsylvania, who refinished the car in a classic black livery with wood accents defining the edges of the nautically minded coachwork. Brilliantly executed interior upholstery and woodwork were performed by Tom Eberhardt, culminating in a First in Class award for European Custom Coachwork at the 2020 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.
Already in fine condition, further mechanical work was done by Bugatti specialist Evan Ide, who relocated the car’s center throttle pedal to a conventional layout for safety. Stored in a climate-controlled private showroom as part of a world-class collection and kept at the ready by an in-house team of professionals, this wonderful Bugatti Type 49 is an able event car, having successfully participated in the 2019 Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance®, the 2020 Amelia Island Eight Flags Road Tour, and American Bugatti Club tours in New England and California in 2020 and 2021.
As The Motor reported in November 1932, “The Type 49 combines all those qualities for which the Bugatti is famous, with an unexpected flexibility and silence at low speeds on top gear. It is indeed a car with a dual personality – a comfortable carriage and a lively sports model…There are very, very few cars capable of equaling this performance.” Fitted with a bespoke roadster body full of panache, this documented, expertly restored, and award-winning Bugatti Type 49 Roadster makes that statement truer now than ever.
