Launched in 1930, the Type 50 was introduced as the successor to Bugatti’s luxurious touring model, the Type 46. However, the Type 50 featured a radical departure with the introduction of twin overhead camshafts and inclined valves. This innovative design was copied from the two Miller race cars Bugatti obtained from Leon Duray. Ettore Bugatti was so pleased with the resulting engine that he fielded a works team of Type 50 open sports cars at the 1931 24 Hours of Le Mans and also created two Grand Prix models based on the design.

This gorgeous example, chassis 50116, was purchased new by Lord Cholmondeley, an ardent Bugatti customer with residences in Britain and a villa on the French Riviera, after seeing the Type 50 (chassis 50115) displayed at the 1930 Paris Salon de l’Auto. Chassis 50116, supplied with engine no. 1, was purchased by Lord Cholmondeley through the Parisian dealer Dominique Lamberjack for an incredible 153,000 French Francs and delivered to an unknown coachbuilder in Paris, where a beautiful bespoke Fiacre fixed-head coupe body was conceived and executed. Cholmondeley retained the Type 50 for eight years, re-bodying it after a few years with a large roadster body, before selling it to a visiting Danish architect, P. Kühl Nielsen. The Bugatti remained in Denmark over the next 13 years, and it was even actively and successfully raced postwar before it was imported to the US in 1951 by Eric Noverraz of New York City.

Over the next 37 years, the Type 50 traded among several well-known Bugatti collectors, including Judge John North, E. Allan Henderson, and Walter Weimer. It was then purchased in the late 1980s by noted British collector Peter Agg in chassis form, as the Roadster body had deteriorated. Embarking on a restoration, Mr. Agg was persuaded by Bugattiste Hugh R. Conway to duplicate the handsome Bugatti-designed roadster coachwork fitted to several Type 50s. The replacement body was carefully copied and beautifully executed by Crailville Ltd. of Southall, England. Mr. Agg enjoyed the Type 50 for several years before it made its way back to the US. In 2000, it came into the hands of Don Marsh, an ardent enthusiast and vintage racer, and was always a centerpiece of the collection.

This Bugatti is well-documented, accompanied by copious records as well as restoration photos. While the car’s engine sump is numbered 35, formerly of chassis 50124, the all-important block, camboxes, and supercharger are stamped no. 1 – the original engine number for this chassis per Bugatti records. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a handsome open Bugatti featuring some of the marque’s most advanced engineering, eligible for countless events worldwide.