Thousands of classic cars and their owners descended on the home of Porsche and Mercedes-Benz for the 14th Retro Classics in Stuttgart on 14 March. More than 3000 historic vehicles crammed into the nine show halls, the feast of motoring covering almost everything with an engine, from Lanz Bulldog tractors to Le Mans prototypes. The centrepiece of the event was a rare gathering of ‘forgotten’ French marques arranged in a stunning circular display, including a 1935 Bugatti Type 57, 1956 Talbot America and a 1933 Delage D 8 S.
But the crowning glory was a 1926 Bugatti Royale – the only one of its kind – that took pride of place at the heart of the stand. The car was a one-off prototype that initially featured Packard Phaeton coachwork, going through two factory bodies and ending up as a Weymann coupe. After being crashed by Ettore, who was rumored to have fallen asleep at the wheel, it was placed in storage, surfacing some years later after travelling to America and entering private ownership. It has been the subject of a recent no-expense-spared restoration following its repatriation to France and was put on display for the first time at the southern German event by its new owner.
One of the Bugatti specialists who oversaw the project, Daniel Lapp, told C&SC: “It’s a great opportunity to show this car to the public for the first time ever. We began the project seven years ago and it’s been a tremendous amount of fun. We worked on 2300 original drawings. It was amazing to research.”