Editor: Jaap Horst
This year I went again to Paris on the Friday, alone in my faithful old Peugeot..
The trip provided no problems at all, and at the (rear) entrance I encountered an old friend who gave me an entrance-ticket.
This time I had a few missions, one was to deliver a stack of airplane books to Angela Hucke of the Bugatti Trust, the Trust had a small exhibition on the Ivan Dutton stand. The other mission was to meet with Claude Teisen-Simony, who was there with his Bugatti-Diatto Avio 8C, reconstruction built around the Bugatti-Diatto aero engine of 14.5 litre.
And there were surprises; The only thing at Retro that you should not be surprised about, is that there will always be Bugatti surprises. This time there were... Ok, you will find them if you scroll down!
And then of course there was the Artcurial auction, including a lot of Bugattis, which on the Friday were almost all brought to the auction location downstairs of one of the halls, and therefore could not be seen from up close. Quick links to a specific section:
Bugatti automobiles
At the stand of Jaap Braam Ruben and Bruno Vendiesse there were some special Bugatti items, like this 3-wheeled Prinetti & Stucchi, with 2 engines and therefore apparently Bugatti's "Type 0". Putting two of the De Dion Bouton single cylinder engines on the bike was Ettore's idea, and it was this bike, or one identical to this one, with which he won a couple of races in the late 1800's.
Only a few years later Bugatti builds his first proper car, the "Count Gulinelli" with a classic layout and a 3-litre 4 engine, also known as the Type 2. The car itself has disappeared, but the cup which Bugatti won with the car in the Milan show of 1901, was present on the same stand. Below it, a page from "Bugatti - By Borgeson".
Braam Ruben and Vendiesse also had a few "normal" Bugattis on their stand, a Type 40 Grand Sport and a Type 43a Roadster
Ivan Dutton also hosted the Bugatti Owners Club / Bugatti Trust on his stand. Not to forget an array of very interesting Bugattis, like this Type 57S which competed at le Mans in 1937.
A nice Type 57 Stelvio Gangloff.
A Type 35B, also if it is one built up from original parts, is always a special attraction with the body off.
I've seen photographs of the Caruso Special, but not the car itself. The engine is half of a T38! In this form, it was very successful in the 1937 National Auto Racing Circuit Championship winning 12 consecutive races driven by Ernie Gessell.
And, also at Dutton's, this real beast! One of the most powerful Bugattis, the Type 54, here chassis 54208.
Make sure to get a life insurance when you drive it though, as this particular type of Bugatti has the highest fatality rate!
At the stand of "Négociants en Virages" this rather sketchy looking Brescia replica, with an impossible radiator.
I don't say it often, but I think in this case, I'd rather have a Veyron...
At Cointreau, this nice looking Type 55 Cabriolet by Vanvooren 2-seater, with rebuilt body.
And what did Bugatti SAS show at their stand? No Chiron or Divo, but a type 55 and an EB110, adorning one of the VR16 engines of 1500 or more HP. See below.
At Tea Cerede this Type 38A, originally delivered in Mozambique!
A very impressive Type 30 with Lavocat et Marsaud body, at the stand of the French Bugatti Club. My friend Tom Clifford also on some of the photographs.
The Bugatti-Diatto Aero 8C reconstruction, based on the 1915 Diatto Built 8 cylinder Aero engine.
Below: some of the details of the car, and the owner, Claude Teisen-Simony, with the car.
The Artcurial space, many cars have already left, some Bugattis are still there. The space for the T51 is very empty...
Old-looking but very new twin-spark Brescia at the stand of Pur Sang Argentina.
Type 37.
No, not a T35, but a Type 37A with aluminium wheels.
At Pueche: this nice Type 30 Torpedo by Carrocerias Casimiro Sola
Black Type 57 Ventoux at William I'Anson
Bugatti EB 110GT
Of course, nowadays also Veyron's show up at Retromobile!
Some parts, radiators and wheels, but there is much more to be had at Retro. If you bring the money...
Bugatti art and miniatures
I didn't photograph that much art this year, from left to right: Paintings by Stanley Rose and Klaus Wagger.
A whole row of CMC 1:18 scale T35's, in all racing colours, including orange, the Dutch racing colour.
Other automobiles etc.
A very nice 1924 Salmson
I have always had a liking for Citroën's, as they were the featured mark at Retromobile, there was a whole line-up of Prototypes.
This is a sports car the way you drew them when you were 12. The Lancia Stratos prototype, 1970. Front-entry, of course!
Nicely made, zero-emission mini-mini. Spring driven. I wonder if it works, but it was in the art section, so probably not!
Il n'en restera que une - There will be only one left.
Artwork on how the world's last automobile was caught... Read the story.
Artcurial Auction Retromobile, 8 february 2019, with results:
Chassis numbers
For those of you who want to know the chassis numbers of the Bugattis, Christian Anicet put them all together, they are the following:
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