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Editor: Jaap Horst


Volume 29 (2024), Issue 3

The one-off Bugatti Type 49 with Beutler-body

"Gebr. Beutler & Co Carrosserie Thun" is written on the sides of the long bonnet. The small plaque causes delight in expert circles, because Beutler was once one of the better sheet metal virtuosos in Switzerland. Founded in 1943 by the brothers Ernst and Fritz, the company emulated the model of Carrosserie Graber, which had existed since 1927 and also in the canton of Bern.

Bodywork with a passion for quality
The Beutlers now also clad individual chassis or small series with timelessly elegant bodies. Their craftsmanship was beyond any doubt, but with the advent of self-supporting automobiles in the 1960s, the era of sheet metal artists inevitably came to an end: Despite an increasing shift to repairs and paintwork, things also went downhill at Beutler - at least they held out until autumn 1987.

The sum of all these facts makes the cars from Thun many times more expensive than identical series with a standard body.

One of 470 examples
A Bugatti 49 from 1931 is of course a rarity even with a factory body. The stately vehicle with a 3.2-liter eight-cylinder in-line engine, dual ignition and 24 valves (a total of 470 examples of this type were produced) was once delivered from the factory to Baron von Bonstetten in Gwatt near Thun.

He only enjoyed the car for two years before selling it on. The second owner, a businessman and high-ranking military officer, also lived in Thun, and so the Bugatti remained there for the next twelve years.

New clothes make the man (or cars)
After 1945, new cars were scarce, even in Switzerland. Pre-war models were used for longer and brought up to scratch. A popular method at the time was to "dress it up" again, and because the Type 49 was not just any car, it ended up with the Beutler brothers, who were new in the business at the time and simply nearby.

"BE 38020" (chassis no. 49427), the vehicle's registration number, is said to have been their 14th order, and they did everything to satisfy the apparently demanding customer:
The original body, reportedly already a convertible, gave way to a stretched, stylish body made of aluminum. Half-integrated fenders and smooth surfaces on the flanks or the rear were based on the then highly modern pontoon shape, while Beutler designed the Scintilla headlights to be free-standing in the best 1940s style.

The typical Bugatti radiator remained, and the overall appearance of the resulting hybrid is not without charm: viewed from behind, the car is elegantly reserved, while its front section still makes a powerful impression in the rear-view mirrors of other road users today.

Comfort instead of sport
With its 85 hp and 1470 kg curb weight, the Beutler-49 is today mediocre at best in terms of acceleration and top speed, to put it politely. In the late 1940s, however, a top speed of 120 km/h still commanded respect, but the car was hardly ever driven that fast.

Comfort was the main focus, which is also underlined by the retrofitting of a Cotal preselector gearbox with four gears at the time. Photos from those days show the convertible on pleasure drives on Alpine passes, but that must have been after 1951: In that year, the Bugatti had changed hands again - in exchange for a new Chrysler Imperial.

Multiple changes of ownership
Multiple changes of ownership The third owner was a garage owner and also lived in Thun, but did not keep the used car, which was already 20 years old now, for long. Two owners later, the passport photos mentioned were taken - the Bugatti had changed hands again after a night of drinking.

It now belonged to the landlord of the Gasthof Krone in Rubigen. His nephew was a mechanic in the neighboring Krone garage and looked after the car. Three years after the innkeeper's death, his widow sold the car in 1955 to an oriental diplomat who had an accident with it in Hindelbank on the way to Zurich, as was reported in the newspaper the next day.

Thoroughly restored
In the same year, the damaged Beutler Bugatti ended up in the United States - first to Florida and then to Michigan, where it would spend the next few decades in various hands. From 2006 to 2009, the vehicle underwent a thorough restoration and returned to Europe in 2010.

The car was sold at an auction in May 2010 to a Bugatti enthusiast from Thun for 425,000 francs plus a premium. The 49 Beutler thus returned to its origins and was once again able to run on familiar mountain and valley routes.

In 2013, the car was auctioned again at the Dolder Classics auction of the Oldtimer Galerie Toffen, this time the hammer fell at 570,000 francs and another owner was able to add their name to the already impressive list. Whether it stays that way is something historians will be able to document in a few years.
Now, 2024, the car is still in Switzerland.

Beutler of course, being founded in 1943, was too late to build many bodies on Bugatti's, though one other is known, a Type 57 (chassis 57256), made in the late 1960's to apparently a Jean Bugatti design. In real 1930's style. Magazine clipping from 1970 on the right.

Original article in German on "Zwichengas". from 2013.
By: Simon Baumann


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