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Temporary UK Import
See UK Registration/Import Status Guide in catalogue.

This Bugatti Type 57, chassis 57724, with Ventoux coachwork (no. 118) was constructed in October 1938 as automobile production at Molsheim slowly wound down and world events began to take center stage. Originally finished in Gris Deauville (Light Grey) with Havane (Tan) leather interior, it was ordered for stock by Lieutenant Colonel W.L. Sorel of the Brixton Road Bugatti agency in London, a prolific dealership for Bugatti automobiles, with the hopes that a buyer would appear in short order.

This was not to be, as it was delivered to London on December 8, 1938, and remained unsold when Ettore Bugatti closed the Brixton Road agency in September 1939, three weeks after the tragic death of his son, Jean, and within a day or two of the outbreak of WWII.

Lt. Col. Sorel would have financed his inventory, but it is highly likely that Ettore required “payment in full” when he closed the agency. L.W. Young purchased the car in September 1940, likely for a bargain price. Mr. Young registered the Ventoux as “LMF 566” on September 20, 1940, a year after the entry of England into WWII. The car’s use was likely limited for the ensuing decade.

In 1950, the car was purchased by H. Archer-Smith of Nottinghamshire. He owned the Ventoux for 22 years, during which time he painted the car black circa 1954, and then to a two-tone blue prior to 1963 when he participated in the International Bugatti Rally in the UK. In 1972, he sold the car to John N. Frears CBE. He was former chairman of his family’s baking business, Frears and Black, which had been acquired by Nabisco Inc. in 1962.

After 10 years in Mr. Frears’ care, the Type 57 was sold in 1982 to well-known Bugatti collector Geoffrey W. Perfect of Penn in Buckinghamshire, joining his two other Bugattis, a Type 37A (chassis 37298) and a T43 (chassis 43171) as well as a large collection of other British sports cars. Mr. Perfect established his lifelong interest in the Bugatti marque during his childhood, when his father maintained several Bugattis belonging to the famed Bugatti enthusiast Francis Curzon, 5th Earl of Howe, who also lived in Penn.

During his ownership, Mr. Perfect yet again changed the color scheme of the Ventoux, this time to a distinctive primrose yellow and black. In early 1993, he sold the Bugatti to Louis M. Quételart, a French collector who had inherited several Bugattis from his father. Living in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France, M. Quételart would use the Ventoux in a number of French Bugatti Club events and international Bugatti rallies and retained the car for over 25 years before selling it to Jacques Dufau of Anglet, France, in 2019. M. Dufau would only own the car for a year before selling it to prominent Bugatti dealer, Bruno Vendiesse of Lille who in turn sold it to Jack Braam Ruben in 2021, completing Mr. Braam Ruben’s collection of Type 57s with every form of factory coachwork.

Returned to a striking single-tone black color scheme by Mr. Braam Ruben with a centrally mounted fog lamp that had been initially installed by Geoffrey Perfect in 1982, chassis 57724 is among the last Type 57s supplied with the two-door Ventoux coachwork, of which approximately 120 were built. Chassis 57724 benefits from significant mechanical attention, including rebuilding the carburetor, water pump, and ignition, new celeron gears, and a new radiator core. Under Mr. Braam Ruben’s ownership, the Ventoux took part in the Bugatti Club Netherlands Rally, and was exhibited at Retromobile in Paris.

According to a copy of its entry in The Bugatti Registry on file, this Type 57 sits atop its original frame (no. 359) and retains its original engine (no. 523) and front axle (no. 523). Properly sorted and beautifully finished, this Ventoux, which retains a high degree of originality, would be a superb addition to an existing Bugatti collection or the perfect example with which to start one.