Historic UK racer

This 1927 Type 38A Bugatti, chassis number 38470, features a beautiful art deco Grand Sport body designed by Ettore. This car is one of only 39 Type 38A’s originally delivered with the inline 8 cylinder engine in supercharged form. Significantly, Bugatti 38470 has a known continuous history from new including a race at Brooklands in the hands of its famous first owner, L. G. Bachelier. That race was the start of a competition career that extended over multiple owners in Great Britain in the 1930’s. In more recent years, the current owners, the JWR Collection, have restored this car to original factory specifications, both mechanically and cosmetically. Their efforts were rewarded when this Type 38A Bugatti received an award in class at Pebble Beach in 1993.

Highlights

Outstanding Example of the French Art Deco Period
An Original Supercharged Bugatti
Researched by Prominent Bugatti Authority Kees Jansen
Exceptional and Continuous Provenance from New
Prominent First Owner, L. G. Bachelier
Brooklands Racing History in Period
Listed in Numerous Bugatti Registers
Currently with the Same Family for 35 Years
Beautifully Restored to Original Specifications
Pebble Beach Class Award Winner
Excellent Condition Throughout

Former Owners

Great Britain - L. G. “Batch” Bachelier, Denis Evans, Child, B. Rees, Derby, Gilbert, John Anderson
United States of America - Steingold, Fountain, Kirk White, Walter Stedeford, Richard Winer, Dr. Terry Bennett

History of this Car

The chassis of our subject car, 38470 with supercharged engine 333, was completed in August 1927 with a factory Grand Sport body. August 1927 was the final month of production of the Types 38 and 38A. Bugatti 38470 remained at the factory for several months before it was ordered by the London Bugatti agent, Colonel Sorel. Sorel sold the car on October 23, 1928 to its first owner, L. G. Bachelier, who registered it with British plate number PG 1593.
Bachelier was a famous Bugatti owner in Great Britain being one of the founding members of their Bugatti Owners Club. Over the years he owned a total of nine Bugattis beginning with a Type 23 Brescia Bugatti, chassis 2533. At one point he owned the ex-Junek Type 35 Grand Prix car, chassis 4613. His last Bugatti was a Type 54 Grand Prix car, chassis 54205, which featured the supercharged 4.9 liter engine. Bachelier famously converted this Type 54 to a road-going sports car by creating a roadster body for it in the style of the Type 55 Jean Bugatti roadsters. The resulting car was a stunning beauty and arguably the fastest road going automobile in Great Britain at the time of its completion in late 1937. Unfortunately Bachelier died in June 1937 just before the car was finished. This car is universally known as the Bachelier Roadster. It spent many years in the US and was raced on the streets of Watkins Glen in 1950 in the capable hands of Hal Ullrich.
Bachelier raced his Type 38 at Brooklands in the JCC High Speed Trials in July 1929. In the 1930 he sold it to Denis Evans who raced it in the BARC Open Meeting Mountain Handicap in 1931 and the JCC High Speed Trials at Brooklands in 1931 and 1932. The Type 38 then went to Child who eventually sold it to B. Rees. By this time the chassis had been shortened to convert the car to a two-seater and the engine had been replaced, fortunately with another genuine Bugatti unit, number 209, ex 38275. This engine ran with twin SU carburetors and was not supercharged. Subsequently this car came into the hands of Derby, then Gilbert and then John Anderson in London.
Bugatti 38470 was then exported to the US, still in its shortened wheelbase form. It was first owned in the US by Steingold, then Fountain and then Kirk White. In 1973 it was owned by Walter Stedeford and then by Richard Winer of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The next owner was Dr. Terry Bennett of Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. Dr. Bennett had an interesting collection of cars and in 1991 decided to sell the majority of them at auction with the proceeds going to benefit his alma mater, the Harvard University School of Medicine. At the auction, Bugatti 38470, still in shortened wheelbase form, was acquired by the current owners, the JWR Collection of Pennsylvania.
A major restoration of 38470 was then commissioned with the intention of bring it back to original factory specifications in all respects. The mechanical work was performed by Don Koleman’s Competition Motors in New Hampshire. The first priority was to return the original chassis to its correct long wheelbase form. Competition Motors then upgraded the car’s second engine, number 209, to supercharged form via the fortunate purchase of an original Bugatti supercharger. The body work was sent to Robert Lorkowski of L’Cars in Wisconsin, and they expertly crafted a new body around the small amount of original bits that survived.
The work was completed in early 1993, and the owners and their team were rewarded later that year when Bugatti 38470 won a prize in class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Since then this Bugatti Type 38A has attended many meetings and has won numerous concours awards.

Notable Events

Produced in Molsheim, France, August 1927
Acquired by First Owner, L. G. Bachelier, October 1928
JCC High Speed Trials at Brooklands, July 1929
BARC Open Meeting Mountain Handicap, 1931
JCC High Speed Trials at Brooklands, July 1931 and 1932
Acquired by JWR Collection at the Harvard Auction, September 1991
Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, August 1993
Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance, August 1994
Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance, Carmel, August 2001
Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, March 2004
Hampton, 2004
Greenwich Concours d’Elegance, June 2004
Radnor Hunt Rally, September 2004
Concours d’Elegance of the Eastern United States, 2005
Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance, September 2007
The Elegance at Hershey, June 2014

Historic Context of the Type 38

A total of 385 examples of the Type 38 were produced from 1926 to 1927 as an 8 cylinder 2 liter model using the engine from the Type 35A Grand Prix car. This engine had three main roller bearings, unusual for Bugatti, but in other respects the engine benefited from all of the classic Bugatti features such as a single overhead camshaft, mono block construction and three valves per cylinder. Toward the end of the production life of the Type 38, the engine was also given a Bugatti Roots type supercharger in order to increase performance. This lead to the final 39 cars being known as Type 38A’s.
In other respects the Type 38A was typical of the classic and much admired Bugatti configuration of the day including the elegant solid front axle with semi-elliptic springs, the rear axle resting on reversed quarter elliptics, and wire wheels all around. To this was added a 4-speed Bugatti transmission and superb cable operated 4-wheel brakes. The whole package was precisely controlled through a classic Bugatti designed steering wheel and box. The road going and handling of the Type 38A were superb, although it was not the fastest Bugatti model on offer.

Things to Consider about this Car

This Type 38A Bugatti has a remarkable and continuous history beginning with its famous first owner and racing at Brooklands and extending to the concours of Pebble Beach and the Elegance at Hershey. It has a genuine chassis frame, now of correct length, as well as other genuine mechanical components. However due to its early racing history, 38470 has lost its original engine. Fortunately, the current engine is a genuine Bugatti unit in the proper supercharged configuration. The original body has been largely replaced by a new one. The result is that today, following an extensive and careful restoration, this beautiful and important Type 38A is in excellent condition and ready to serve its fortunate next owner very well indeed.