Breathtaking Bugatti trio rescued from Belgian barn

The stuff of dreams…

To find one classic Bugatti in a barn would be fortunate. To find two? Well, that would be incredible. 

Amazingly, this ramshackle garage in Belgium was home to three of the super-expensive and rare vehicles – plus a 1920s Citroën for good measure.

Between them they’re worth almost £1million – and they’re being sold at auction in February.

Read on to find out how they got there, and what makes them so special.

Call in the experts

The four cars were rescued from the garage by Matthieu Lamoure and Pierre Novikoff of French auction house Artcurial Motorcars.

An artist’s muse

The pre-war beauties had all been in the barn since the end of the 1950s, lying there untouched for the best part of 60 years because their owner, a sculptor, used them for research rather than transportation.  

Entrance denied

Inside the barn, the cars were mostly in decent condition – but getting to them in the first place was no easy task: a modern car blocked the entrance and boards had also been used to barricade the doors.

Sandbagging

As if that wasn’t enough, Lamoure and Novikoff had to remove hundreds of rain-sodden sandbags from in front of the barn; fortunately, they had some help from a few strong friends!

Treasure trove

All that hard work was worth it, though – once inside, the pair discovered a treasure-trove of motoring gems: 1937 Bugatti Type 57, 1932 Type 49 Limousine, 1929 Type 40 and 1925 Citroën 5HP.

Bugatti beauty

While they’re all notable finds, the clear standout is the Type 57 Cabriolet.

Chassis 57500, it started life in Molsheim and was then sent to the master coachbuilder Herman Graber in Switzerland.

The sculptor’s story

After passing through a couple of owners and surviving the war unscathed, the Bugatti was bought by Dutch sculptor August Thomassen in December 1960.

Thomassen was a Bugatti devotee who created a bronze bust of Ettore Bugatti that’s still on display at the Schlumpf museum in Mulhouse, France, today. 

Big-ticket item

Thomassen didn’t drive his Type 57 very much, and it retains all its original mechanical components, plus its dashboard and instruments.

As an outstanding example of a sought-after model, the Type 57 is the highest-valued of the four vehicles, going to auction with an estimate of £360,000 - £540,000.

Paris past

The Type 49 Limousine, bodied by Vanvooren, is only slightly less notable – it even appeared at the 1932 Paris Motor Show, where it was a demonstration car for Bugatti at the Grand Palais.

Barn-find history

Interestingly, the Type 49 has twice been rescued from a barn! One of its first owners was Georges Ponsart, a farmer’s son from Germigny.

His grandson recalls that during the war, “Georges removed the wheels… so that the Germans couldn’t take it. After the war, the car wasn’t driven much and as children, we used to go into the barn to play in it.”

And so it was that when Thomassen purchased it in 1957, the sculptor had to use two carthorses to pull it out of the barn.

Great condition

The mechanical elements of the car are totally original as it goes to auction, and it retains its two spare wheels on the wings and its original, two-tone yellow-and-black livery.

Artcurial estimates it will sell for between £135,000 and £180,000.

Rally star

The third of the trio is a 1929 Bugatti Type 40 and, unlike the other two, it seems Thomassen actually drove this car frequently. 

Bought by the sculptor in 1958, the little brown landaulet was kept at his second home in Haute-Savoie, and saw regular action in various Alpine rallies.

New body

At one of these rallies, in Mont-Blanc in July 1984, the car’s original body was damaged, so Thomassen decided to remove the coachwork and build a small four-seater torpedo body, a Grand Sport model.

Unfinished project

This project remains unfinished, but is nonetheless well advanced, with the wooden framework having been built, and the wings and lights in place, and with the original chassis and engine all included. Artcurial reckons this will sell for £62-116,000.

Citroën oldie

Finally, there’s the oldest of the barn-finds: a 1925 Citroën 5HP.

While maybe not quite as exotic as the Bugattis, the 5HP is a charming old thing in its own right: although not currently roadworthy, it is in apparently sound condition and boasts some lovely details, such as the hat net behind the bench and the Radiax accessory radiator cap with built-in thermometer.

And, best of all, this lot will be offered with no reserve.

Bugatti magic

Lamoure, speaking on Artcurial’s YouTube channel, was thrilled with the find: “When I was a young adolescent I never imagined finding such sleeping beauties hidden for years in incredibly well-conserved condition. This is the thrill of a treasure hunt. 

“Clearly it’s the stuff of dreams, and because it’s Bugatti it’s even more magical.”

Artcurial’s Rétromobile auction will take place on 8 February 2019 – and we’ll be sure to report back on what these barn-finds sell for.

MORE BARN-FIND FUN: THE 30 BEST BARN-FINDS OF ALL TIME