There are some Bugattis which should be celebrated over and over again. This is one of them.

Chassis Number : 54205
Engine Number : 5
First delivered : 04/1932
First Owner : Lord Howe (GB



In April 1932 this car was delivered to Lord Howe, the great British racing aristocrat and Bugattiste, who, apart from this Type 54, also owned and raced, Types 43, 51 and 59, in addition to owning a glamorous T57S Atalante road-car. A remarkable man Lord Howe, at the first race at the then new Goodwood race track he was asked to say a few words, so he cleared his throat and said : “Gentlemen, racing is a dangerous business. Let us try to keep it that way!” Wearing number 28, 9th at the 1933 Grand Prix de l’A.C.F. held at the Rheims circuit was 54205’s best result, reflecting more of the car’s failings than the driver’s, and he duly moved her on in 1936.

<a href="http://www.bugattibuilder.com/photo/albums/userpics/10003/Bugatti_54_roadster_2_pop.jpg"><img src="http://www.bugattibuilder.com/photo/albums/userpics/10003/normal_Bugatti_54_roadster_2_pop.jpg" alt="Bugatti type 54"></a>

The next owner L.G Bachelier, owner of a standard T55 Roadster, decided to convert 54205 into a sports-car with coachwork based closely on that of the Jean Bugatti styled Roadster. The result , completed over the winter of 1936/37 was a visual masterpiece, unfortunately Batch died of cancer before completion, and the car was duly passed on to Graig, then Young and raced in the early post war years by the next owner, James. In 1949 this underdeveloped monster of a car was involved in an accident major enough to destroy the front axle.

Replaced by a wider axle, the front wings was widened accordingly and Mr. James sold her to Cameron Peck, one of the first big post-war collectors. Peck sold it to Dr. Scher, who in turned sold it to one S.G. Carkhuff, before the greatest of all Bugatti rogues, the one and only Ray Jones, restored her to Earl Howe spec, fitting the G.P. body from 54210 in the process. Next the car went to Gillmore and it was up to R.J. Boudeman to complete the restoration to more-or-less exact Earl Howe spec. The available research suggesting that the Jones rebuild was approximate at best.

Now this where things start getting interesting. Sometime during the 1980’s the Bachelier body was discovered by an engineer called George Ktsanis. Together with Joe and Clarence Johnson, Walter Falk, and Bruce Faulkner, they formed RARE Ltd of Wisconsin and provided the backing to restore 54205 back to Bachelier style. After acquiring the chassis from Boudeman, now resplendent in its original 1932 Earl Howe spec, they set about finding a whole slew of original parts, ex-Bachelier. Not an easy task, seeing that Ray Jones was primarily responsible for gleefully scattering some of the components to the 4 corners of the earth.

<a href="http://www.bugattibuilder.com/photo/albums/userpics/10003/Bugatti_54_roadster_3_pop.jpg"><img src="http://www.bugattibuilder.com/photo/albums/userpics/10003/normal_Bugatti_54_roadster_3_pop.jpg" alt="Bugatti type 54"></a>

Once this was done , the work could begin, and during the next few years they completed a restoration described by renowned historian Doug Nye as: “The most breathtakingly RIGHT-looking restoration I have ever seen from a US workshop, and one which won unstinting praise from all (the) British and Continental Bugatti specialists.” Doug also quotes great Bugatti connoisseur and collector, Uwe Hucke (no longer with us, alas) as describing 54205 “simply (and significantly) as the most beautiful Bugatti he (Hucke) had ever seen.”

In 1987 Christies held their first Ferrari and Bugatti only sale, timing it to fall between the Mille Miglia retro and the Monaco G.P., ensuring thereby the presence of most of the world’s deep pocketed collectors. To whet their appetites, 54205 was demonstrated along the beachfront, laying 50 yards of black lines on the road. Bugatti’s widow-maker was fighting fit, and looking for a new owner. In the sumptuous surroundings of the Loews Hotel, the atmosphere was electric as this most awesome of “specials” crossed the block. One of 10 Bugattis sold that evening, chassis 54205 reached the highest price of them all, going to Evert Louwman for 507 000 GBP. Not cheap by any means, but a bargain compared to the 7000 000 GBP fetched by the Kellner Royale that same year. Three years later the heady days of the eighties boom ended in tears for a great many speculators, but not before some spectacular prices had been achieved by some pretty unspectacular cars.



Today the Bachelier T54 can still be viewed at Evert Louman’s Museum at Raamsdonkerveer. Not only is his collection open to the public, but Mr. Louwman also encourage the placement of his cars on the internet. A tragically rare thing to do, especially amongst Bugatti owners. How did Basil Fawlty put it : “We don’t want the working classes sticking their noses in it” As a penniless enthusiast I am a bit miffed about this lack of access, although the truly great ones goes to considerable lengths to share their jewels with others, witness the fabulous new museum in which Dr. Fred Simeone's cars are displayed, including the only (?) surviving T57G.

I have downloaded countless photographs of Mr. Louman’s crown jewel, and while I am filled with envious lust, there are those who believe that the standard T55 Roadster is the more balanced design. Certainly mechanically speaking, the T55 was equipped with suspension and brakes in keeping with its performance, while the T54 has always been considered as overpowered and under-developed. Today this does not matter so much, but those who raced T54’s in period must have been abnormally brave or stupid or both.

Comparing profile shots of T55 with this car I can do no better than quote Mr. Doug Nye, again : “From photographs of the Bachelier car I thought it looked less balanced than a regular T55, its further-back cockpit making the tail too short. No way. In the metal it’s the Type 55 which looks wrong , its bonnet too short and the cockpit too central, giving a broken-backed appearance. The long-bonnet/short-tail Bachelier car is simply gorgeous” I am in general agreement with Mr. Nye, however I do not consider the T55 less attractive, merely different.

Originally painted black with light coloured (probably ivory) coves, she was painted in all black livery by RARE. More recently Mr. Louwman had the coves painted a mid-tone blue, and most attractive it looks too, especially when shown next to his black and red T50/46. That car also had an American restoration, done by Bill Harrah’s workshops, and is generally considered over-restored. Bollocks I say, those lines deserves a little bling, this is, after all, the first Bugatti I fell in love with, thus starting my Bugatti obsession which, in spite of, or perhaps because of, the mercurial character of Ettore, grows ever more intense. Objectivity be damned, I love that man.

An interesting aside, the thorough restoration of the T57 Grand Raid, ch.no. 57221 (The precursor to the T57T) is nearing completion, and it will be very interesting to compare the standard of workmanship of the Louwman workshops with the cars he bought already restored. And all of us will be able to view them all, if not in the metal, then certainly on one of the many web-sites featuring the Louwman treasures. Just a thought, seeing that I will be in Europe for the Bugatti centenary next year, wouldn't it be neat if I could write Bugattibuilder.com's first exclusive road-test on the Bachelier T54? Splendid idea don't you think? Herman, will you contact Mr. Louwman and ask him to hand over his irreplaceable treasure to a visiting foreigner please? I wonder if he will agree to it?

Finally , it remains a mystery to me why this car did not win Pebble Beach when it was entered in 2001. Arturo Keller’s Mercedes-Benz SS took the laurels, and that car was not only painfully over-restored, but also had to be extensively rebuilt to get it back to a close approximation of originality; the Bachelier car being, in my opinion, much more original and certainly much more beautiful. By the way did you know that Pebble Beach as well will be celebrating Bugatti in 2009, perhaps Mr. Louwman feel like taking another run at the laurel wreath?

Enjoy the pictures!

Kind Regards
Johan Buchner

this spectacular bugatti was road-tested in " the automobile" some years ago, when beeing overhauled after louwman bought it.

regards
mike

Thanks Mike, I did not know this. Does anyone have a scan of this article? Is it allowed to post a scan of a magazine article on the forum? I just can't get enough of this car.

Johan

i`ll try to find it, some bit of problem, cause I have a run of all issues
from 1981 on.

regards
mike

Funny thing.You have just reminded me that The Automobile Magazine tested two of my cars.In 1986 Michael wrote a very good article about my T37.He was then promptly sacked.Then sometime later Malcolm wrote about my T56 and was also sacked thereafter ! I shall have to warn the current editor never to test one of my cars !

to lazarus !!

I remember the two articles. do you still own one of theese?
the T56 was quite interesting, not only the car, but the history.

regards
mike

The T37 is in Belgium,the first of five T37s that i assembled from mostly original parts. The T56 belonged originally to Ettore and was shown at the Paris show next to a Royale.Jaques Violet [ owner of BYRHH drink co] bought the car [i use the term loosely !] to use on his estate where the grapes were grown to make the drink.This was according to the Logbook [which i still have] the Villa Palauda in Perpignon.My car had never been restored or painted.The footbrake [there was no handbrake] was screwed to the wooden floorboards with woodscrews which pulled out if you braked too hard ! I took it to spectate on the Brighton run one day ,Nobody knew what it was !

hello larzarus

so you still have the T56? I clearly remember both articles, the T37
one with the american collector and his bits, and the T56 one, with it`s history and the photos, one I think with your daughter alongside in a red T52

mike

no the T56 is back in france.I only have my post war prototypes left.