For the first time in decades, a much-coveted 1931 Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix two-seat racer is set to change hands.
The pre-war successor to the Type 35 racer that collected championships like Scout badges in the ’20s, the 51 competed four times in the Monaco Grand Prix. Its driver, Tazio Nuvolari, was once called “the greatest driver of the past, the present and the future” by none other than Ferdinand Porsche. His roster of victories included 72 major races and 150 in total, with 24 Grand Prix, five Coppa Cianos, two Mille Miglias, two Targa Florios, two RAC Tourist Trophies, a 24-Hours of Le Mans and a European Championship.
So, yeah, we want to sit where he sat.
The Bugatti’s owner, Lord Francis Curzon, the 5th Earl Howe and premier president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, went on to register the beauty in a slew of additional races throughout Europe and Britain.
The 51 has only had two owners in the past 50 years, but she’s crossing the block this August in Monterey at Bonhams.
Could be a fanciful fit for October’s Race of Gentlemen in Pismo looking to open ‘er up and write the next chapter of its destiny.
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