Bugatti found

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I hope this is true and not another case of "the unknown cars in the Portugese shed". So, keep looking in the old garages and sheds, you never know your luck. All I ever found in a collapsed garage was an MG 1100.

Malcolm

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> > From correspondents in London > > January 02, 2009 02:45pm > > A RARE Bugatti supercar left to gather dust in an English garage for half > a century could fetch millions of pounds when it goes under the hammer > next month. > > Experts believe the car - one of just a handful ever made - could fetch > as much as £6 million ($12.51 million) when it is auctioned at the > Retromobile car show and sale being organised by Bonhams in Paris in > February. > > Owner Harold Carr apparently abandoned the rare Bugatti in his lock-up in > Newcastle after buying it in the 1950s. > > When the reclusive surgeon died in 2007, his nephew found the Type 57S > Atalante when he cleared out the garage and was amazed to learn that just > 17 of the model were ever made. > > His nephew, an engineer from Newcastle who wishes to remain anonymous, > told the city's Evening Chronicle newspaper: "We just can't believe it. > > "It's worth so much because he hasn't used it for 50 years. It was one of > the original supercars. When it was built it could reach 210km/h when > most cars could only do 50. > > "Of course we're delighted and we're going to make sure the money is > shared out among the family. It's a wonderful thing to leave." > > The Bugatti 57S was originally owned by British aristocrat and racing > enthusiast Earl Howe, who was the first president of the British Racing > Drivers' Club. > > He took delivery of the sporty two-seater Atalante in 1937 and kept the > car for eight years. > > After it changed hands several times, Mr Carr bought it in 1955 and drove > it for a few years before parking it in the garage in the early 1960s, > where it remained until his death. > > James Knight, > "I have known of this Bugatti for a number of years and, like a select > group of others, hadn't dared divulge its whereabouts to anyone. > > "It is absolutely one of the last great barn discoveries... The Atalante > is incredibly original and, although she requires restoration, it is > 'restoration' in the true sense of the word. > > "From my perspective, save for some of the interior, all original parts > can be restored or conserved in order to maintain originality." >
Reply to
Malcolm
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We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Malcolm" saying something like:

"When it was built it could reach 210km/h when most cars could only do

50."

Think they got their kph and mph mixed up there.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

It's true, but the car hasn't really been "found". It was well known that the car existed and that Dr. Carr owned it and had it laid up. No one has been talking about it because the car was stored in a garage with no security and there has been silence on the subject until the family decided to sell the car at auction, when it was removed to secure storage.

Reply to
Steve Firth

Reply to
Charles Hamilton

The message from "Charles Hamilton" contains these words:

Who is selling it?

My money is on the executor who has to find the death duties. The chances are that this car is by far the largest asset in the estate and just has to be sold to fund the the payment so probate can be granted.

It is possible I suppose that probate has already been granted (anyone know how to find out the probate value?) but if that is so did the declared estate include a £3M car or just a £10,000 junk filled lockup garage?

Reply to
Roger

One article states that the money is to be shared across the family. It needs restoring, it's unlikely that all inheritors can/could fund their share of that cost.

I really don't understand the mentality that takes a car like this and hides it for 50 years. I'm sure there are plenty of museums that would have gladly housed it on loan. Looks like he didn't even bother to dust sheet it.

I can't believe a car locked up for 50 years would still have 4 tyres full of air.

Reply to
Peter Hill

Reply to
Charles Hamilton

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