To find some respite from the T51 jungle, I thought I would do a post on one of my favourite touring Bugattis, the Coupe Profilee T46 now in Mulhouse. Most of the information comes from L.G. Matthews Jr.'s Bugatti Yesterday and Today.

The history of the chassis :

46482, engine 327 was one of 4 unused T46 chassis' kept by Roland Bugatti, 2 of which were sold to Richard Baudens during the early fifties, who then sold 46482 to Don Stanford, who in turn offered it to Russ Sceli in 1952. Sceli did not buy the car, but put Stanford in touch with Eri Richardson, a Bugattist from Washington, who then took delivery of this brand new chassis.

The coachwork :

Having no body for his new Bugatti, Richardson then travelled to France in search of suitable coachwork and after several years of searching discovered a Profilee bodied T50 behind a barn. Form the pen of Eri Richardson the following : "The two spare wheels had been left of, (and) the top had been profilated right on down to the base of the petrol tank; the rear wings had been cut back to a complementary curve. So far as I know, this was the only coupe so done at the works" This body, still mounted on its original T50T chassis was then shipped to Richardson's home in Washington where it was restored (very well, it would seem) and mounted on the unused T46 chassis. Matthews makes no mention of the fate of the T50 chassis.

In 1959 Andy Rheault bought it from Richardson but due to a temporary cash-flow problem was forced to put it on the market a short time later. In December 1960 Derry Mallalieu at Grand Prix Engineering in Norwalk offered the car for sale at 4500.00 Dollars. It remained unsold until July 23, 1963 when Fritz Schlumpf bought it and had it shipped to his collection.

In an effort to discover the chassis number of the T50 donor car, L.G. Matthews requested Patrick Garnier of the Mulhouse Museum to search the archives for any information. The search revealed nothing, nor are there any meaningful numbers on the body, so the origins of the body remain therefore unknown.

I have only ever seen photographs of one Full Profilee T50T, the two-tone (probably black and ivory) car displayed at the 1932 Paris Salon after it was photographed (minus front bumper) outside the factory. That this is the same car is merely an assumption on my part, nor do I know whether Eri Richardson was correct in his belief that only one Full Profilee was built.

Using photographs from Wiki and the Bugatti Trust's album No.14 I present the following for comparison. As can be seen the bodies are very similar, but the treatment of the rear wings reveal significant differences. The way the front windshield is mounted also appears different. These 2 bodies are very similar indeed, but not identical. Therefore I cannot, in all good conscience, declare them to be the same. Once the Saunier, Klein & Jansen work arrive (hint, hint) this mystery should be solved. In the mean time, share with me in celebrating the extraordinary talent of Jean Bugatti.






Regards
Johan Buchner

Dear Johan

The 46 book may be out soon. Bohuslav is now on holiday; he is the only one who can tell when it comes from the printer. You will find the text of the history of the car there.

Its history is a result of the depression that finally had also hit France late 1930. Sales had slumped and the factory was stuck with a large surplus of unsold vehicles. The coachbuilder Vanvooren had ordered 12 types 46 but must have cancelled the order. Late 1930 the Bugatti firm would have been broke if it would not have been rescued by the Swiss firm Bucar. In the month November and December 1930 in total 70 unsold chassis and cars were bought by Bucar, providing the factory with sufficient money to continue production but on a smaller scale. For Bucar this has never really paid off. Although they were allowed to sell for instance all Bugattis in Belgium from 1930 onwards, the family of the person that decided this has never forgiven him for wasting so much of the family capital!

The fate of all 12 type 46 chassis for Vanvooren is described in the book. Some were sold later after having been restamped to make them look newer, and finally four remained at the factory until after the war. These had not been taken to Bordeaux but left in Molsheim (As you know Ettore had moved the material to Bordeaux expecting that only the Alsace might be occupied by the Germans. )

Don Stanford was erroneously described as owner in W1 (Eaglesfield 1954, written as Stafford). He was offered the car, but did not have the money to buy it. He was a writer travelling through France. He wrote to his friend Russ Sceli, who also dealt in Bugattis and who was an intermediary for Major Eri Richardson on a commission basis. There was only one condition by Roland Bugatti, but that was absolute: they were not allowed to place a Cadillac body on it! And Eri kept word! But it is not the Salon prototype body as you quite rightly noticed.

Thank you so much for this reply Kees, I appreciate it more than you will ever know. I make no apologies for my impatience to receive your book, one of my favourite Types, and the book is written by the best! I cannot wait to learn all the secrets of the T46, even though it is a firm favourite, I actually know very little about it.

Thanks again for replying, and please tell Bohuslav that it is not important that I get the first copy, it is however of vital importance that I get mine before any Australian does! Here in the Southern Hemisphere pissing contests count as blood-sport.

With the Fondest of Regards
Johan Buchner

PS. I take it Roland was aware then of the Cadillac bodied T46 now at Mulhouse? Another car of mystery from the Shakespeare collection.

I just got word from Roland Saunier that the printing of the book has been delayed a bit. It now is scheduled to come out at the end of october 2008. So another two months wait.

But I can guarantee you it will be worth the wait, and it will turn out to become an excellent investment.

Look at what happened to the Dutch Belgian Bugatti Register, which was sold for € 75.- in 2005- which is now sold out- but at this years Retromobile a stolen copy has been sold for $ 600.- (GBP 300)

Thank you Kees.

Believe me, I do not mind waiting one little bit. From what I understand this is going to be even more comprehensive than expected. The best things in life are allways worth waiting for. Interesting to hear about the investment potential, but no matter what, I will never sell.

When it comes to choosing between money and books, the books win every time. Which may explain why I will never be rich!

Thanks Again.
Johan