Jean Bugatti created the Type 57 model as an innovative addition to the Bugatti bloodline in 1934. Only 710 Type 57 motorcars were built – making this rare and early car highly desirable. The Type 57 offered here, chassis 57224, was completed in September 1934, and sent to Carrosserie Vanvooren in October to be fitted with this attractive pillarless four-door Galibier body commissioned by Bugatti. Once complete, the Type 57 was dispatched to Swiss agent Bucar in December 1934, and employed as a demonstration model.

By 1938, the car found its way to a Zurich lawyer, Walter Badertscher, before being acquired by car collector Walter Messerli of Autoabbruch Kaufdorf-Riggisberg, Switzerland, and subsequently by an enthusiast named Mr. Eckert. In 1963, Fritz Schlumpf purchased the car from Mr. Eckert for 2,000 francs, and the Bugatti joined the famed Schlumpf Collection, which at one point included over 450 of the world’s finest automobiles. The Galibier was acquired from the Schlumpf Reserve Collection by the Mullin Automotive Museum in 2009.

Of note are the many untouched features of this unique pillarless sedan, including a mostly complete original interior, dashboard, and engine. Over the years, some ancillary components have been lost, including the radiator. As a significant piece of automotive history that has been virtually untouched for decades, this magnificent 1934 Bugatti Type 57 deserves to be treasured in a serious collector’s archive for perpetuity