Dear Friends

One of the issues that have occupied my mind for a while now is whether we as enthusiast can play any role in the protection of the surviving Bugattis. I have now received the answer. We cannot.

Ralph Lauren, as odious a piece of pond scum as have ever tainted the Marque, is the rightful owner of 2 Bugatti T57S'. He can do with them what he likes. He does not owe any of us an explanation, nor does he require anyone's permission. The only way to properly preserve this heritage is to purchase it. I will never be in a position to buy a Bugatti, therefore I shall remain irrelevant.

Oh sure, I can use this forum to bitch and complain and wring my hands in anguish and pontificate about Bugatti collectors' lack of morals till I'm blue in the face, but it won't make a damn bit of difference. Restoration or violation remains the prerogative of the owner.

The news is not all bad though. Regardless of how atrocious the restoration, (Weinberger Royale, Tulip Wood Hispano, EXK 6 etc.) at least it survives. And a future owner can always re-restore a whored out car with more authenticity. But only if such an owner chooses to. In any event, we remain mere spectators.

Tragic but true.

Regards
Johan Buchner

Dear Johan,

Lots of people do not like the way Lauren has “over restore” most of the cars in his collection. Chroming the wire wheels of a Bugatti is on of the most seen “ upgrades” in most cases made when the cars are restored in the US. Why… I have no idea… probably because most of the cars presented at “Pebble Beach” have them. I once visited a Dutch type 37 owner that had removed the chrome from the wire wheels and painted them black again…. So… there for sure is hoop…. Only a matter of time…

Best regards,

Rivaaquarama

You are right, I'm sure. The future of restored cars seem secure. But what about those few untouched originals? A Bugatti may be restored any number of times, but it is original only once. I have no answers for this problem either.

Johan

There is nothing new under the sun and it is a very old controversy. It existed already around 1952 or 53 and I remember a long article in Road & Track about a T51 wich has been sold to an american officer coming back to the States. I have seen it at Friedrich's garage in Nice and it was 100% original and very well preserved and I was in love with it (I was 13 at the time). Two years later it had been "restored" in the worst way with chrome everywhere. Absolutely garish! I was mad and many people too. Pro and Con readers have sent letter to the magazine for months and now we have Lauren who is exactly the same kind of…hum!
I agree about the fact that those cars are preserved but even if somebody try to return them to "original" they will be just fakes. At the same time we have modern replicas wich are very well aged with nice patina. How in 50 years people will be able to know what a Bugatti was really like?
Best regards, Soling

"A Bugatti may be restored any number of times, but it is original only once. I have no answers for this problem either."

"How in 50 years people will be able to know what a Bugatti was really like?"

I have to be careful what I say, as the information behind it is embargoed until at least the end of January 2008 and possibly until the start of February 2008 - the launch date is being finalized over Christmas.

All I can say is that I have been working on a project for over 2 years that covers this problem and it is literally on the cusp of being completed.

Once launched, you will see how information on Bugatti (and for that matter quite a few rare cars) can be preserved and disseminated in a way that hinders fakery, shows what "original" truly means, is novel and in my view beautiful. I can guarantee that you will see a particular type of Bugatti in a way that it has never been seen before - by anyone - including Ettore himself.

I cannot tell you more at present (please don't ask or PM for more info - I simply cannot tell you), but please do not get too worked up about the situation. Large amounts of time and money are being spent to ensure Bugatti history is being preserved accurately and everyone will see the first results of this effort by early February.

Regards

Interesting point Soling. The adding of artificial patina is something I haven't given a lot of thought. Your post has added a new dimension to the conundrum as to what exactly constitutes originality. And given me something entirely new to torture myself with - Thanks.

Congratulations BugattiSurprise. My curiosity would prove life threatening to a fullgrown cat. Perhaps You will turn out to be the One who leads us Bugatti Enthusiasts into the Promised Land. Then again, perhaps not.

One more thing; is there any truth to the rumour that the Ford Museum is planning to restore the Weinberger Royale to original specification? They got it running for Meadowbrook. Did they keep the modifications Chayne made to the carburators?

Kind Regards
Johan Buchner