1926 BUGATTI 37A EX-JACQUES DUFILHO

French title
Chassis n° 37211
Engine n° 114

- Famous previous owner
- Genuine Bugatti 37 with supercharger added by Dufilho
- Original engine
- Highly prestigious Grand Prix model

A year after the successful launch of his Type 35, with its 2-litre 8-cylinder engine, Ettore Bugatti presented the Type 37 in November 1925. It was equipped with a 1.5-litre 4-cylinder engine and wire wheels, and had several other, less visible differences from the 35. It was, however, almost as quick, developing 60bhp and – with a weight of 710kg – had a top speed of 150kph. In June 1927, the Type 37A appeared. Its 1496cc engine had a supercharger (as on the 35B and C); power went up to 90bhp and its top speed to 175kph. It still had wire wheels and, as an option, 330mm drum brakes. The Bugatti Type 35 and 37 were the first racing cars to be offered for sale in a catalogue, with 287 of the 37 and 37A sold.
Jacques Dufilho was born in Bègles in 1914, ten years before the first 35, into a family of pharmacists. In the 1930s, as a young man, he turned towards one of his first loves, for agriculture and breeding cattle and horses, before enlisting in the army for two years in 1934. On returning to civilian life, he went into the theatre, before being called up for active service in 1939. When he was released in 1940, he went to live in Paris, where he followed Charles Dullin’s classes at the Théâtre de l’Atelier. After the war, he achieved his first success with comic sketches such as ‘Victorine’ at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens. His career encompassed nearly 170 films and 60 plays, and he received a Molière, two Césars and many prizes and trophies.
In 1942, he was first touched by the grace of Bugatti’s cars, by the charm of their appearance and the beauty of their engineering. He began simply, buying a Bugatti Type 40 cabriolet in poor condition. He restored it himself, but in 1943 a breakdown brought it to a halt in Paris. Naturally, he went to the official Bugatti workshop in Levallois, where he was well received by the great Henri Hauswald, who had worked for Bugatti for over 25 years. Since 1939, Hauswald had been training his ‘godson’, Raymond Lemayeux, to become a highly skilled member of the clan of Bugatti mechanics. Dufilho hit it off with Hauswald’s team and he acquired a Bugatti 44 to replace his Type 40. The actor remained faithful to Hauswald’s Bugatti workshop and, after Hauswald died, to Lemayeux’s workshop at the place du Palais Bourbon in Paris. Dufilho’s consuming passion saw him buy several Bugattis, including a lovely 57 Stelvio cabriolet in black and pale yellow (57406).
In 1957, he noticed a Bugatti Type 37 (chassis no. 37211 and engine no. 114) in poor condition, in the courtyard of Hauswald’s workshop. It was one of the three Type 37s delivered in October 1926 and was displayed in Bugatti’s showroom in Paris. Not knowing what to do with it, its previous owner, M. Balanche,
a sculptor from Meudon, had it repainted by the Bugatti workshop. It was love at first sight, and Dufilho bought his sixth Bugatti. It would be HIS Bugatti, which he would customise, just like André Dubonnet’s Hispano- Suizas and Robert Delaunay’s Voisins in the 1930s or, more recently, Gianni Agnelli’s Ferraris, with their special bodywork, uprated engines or personalised interiors.
The restoration stretched over 10 years, from 1958 to 1968, with the work carried out as Dufilho was paid for his films and plays. The car was completely stripped down, the chassis checked and all the mechanical parts gone through with a fine-tooth comb, as he liked to say. The Type 37 270mm brake drums were replaced by 330mm items, as fitted to the supercharged Type 37A, and new 18in wire wheels fitted. Houdaille hydraulic dampers replaced the friction ones. A new engine-turned aluminium dashboard was mounted on top of the original dash, with the position of the instruments decided by Dufilho. The bodywork was in a bad state and was completely rebuilt in duralumin by M. Porte, a former panel beater at the Bugatti factory. The black leather upholstery was made up by the coachbuilder Polné. Under the bonnet, the aluminium engine block (no. 37211/114) was, of course, kept, but the cast iron cylinder block, a 1496cc Type 35 (69×100mm), was replaced by a 1628.5cc Type 49 item (72×100mm), in which every other plug hole was sealed. The pistons, conrods and crankshaft were new. Ignition was provided by means of a battery and distributor, while fuel was supplied through a Zenith 42 carburettor, with – from 1961 – a Bugatti no. 71 supercharger and the drive gear crankcase no. 265. The radiator was rebuilt by Delhomme in Levallois and the multi-plate clutch replaced by a stronger single-plate part. Front axle no. 255, gearbox no. 139, rear axle no. 350, marked 13×54. With the increased capacity, peak power was probably close to 100bhp at 5000rpm. In 1965, when first testing it, the actor declared that he had driven it at 200kph! Dufilho knew the Bugatti family well and was given the radiator cap by Lydia Bugatti.
In the end, to finish HIS Bugatti 37A Special, Dufilho had to part with his 57 Stelvio. In the following years, when he was at his farm in the south-west of France, he used his Bugatti 37A almost every day, always having it scrupulously maintained by Lemayeux, who made a special journey to work on it every year. Christian Huet, a longstanding expert on the Bugatti, was also often present. During these meetings, the programme of work needed to maintain the car was decided, interrupted by an enjoyable dinner until late in the night and lengthy stories about Bugatti.
In 1981, Dufilho’s tax arrears had built up and he asked Huet to sell his customised Bugatti. It was duly sold at auction in Fontainebleau on 18 April 1982, after Lemayeux had given it a full service at his garage. Bugatti no. 37211 was then bought by a major Parisian collector for his wife. Sometime later, his mechanic replaced the Type 49 cylinder block with a new 1496cc Type 37 block, produced at the request of the UK Bugatti Owners’ Club. To improve its cooling, a radiator was concealed in the tail of the car. 37211’s last outing was the Rallye des Amis des Grandes Marques in 1987. Since then, the opportunity to use the Bugatti has not arisen, and it has lain dormant without being driven for 30 years. It then was acquired by a collector who was taking pleasure in admiring its intrinsic beauty rather than getting behind the wheel. Its future keeper will therefore have the pleasure of getting it running again (the engine is not seized) and bringing this unique Bugatti back to life, by taking part in rallies and shows for the marque.
This Type 37 in known in Bugatti circles as the ‘Dufilho 37’. It offers the provenance, authenticity and prestige of the model and has a clear and unique history, without having been subjected to the rigours of racing; rather, it has known the love and respect of its successive owners.

Photo © Bernard Canonne

The auction of this lot will take place on Friday 18 March.
https://www.artcurial.com/fr/lot-1926-bugatti-37a-ex-jacques-dufilho-4134-147