Stunning 1938 Bugatti that once formed part of the collection of the heir to Macy’s to be auctioned with a guide of £1.4 to £1.6 million
A 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante owned for the majority of its life by John Wendell Straus (1920 – 2008), the heir to Macy’s department store fortune, is undoubtedly one of the star lots at RM Sotheby’s Driven by Disruption sale on 10th December in New York.
Owned by Straus – whose grandparents founded the department store chain before perishing on the Titanic in 1912 – from the early 1950s after he saw it on offer at Zumbach Motors on West 54th Street in New York, the Bugatti was put into storage in 1962 and remained there, covered in dust, until the mid-2000s. Auctioned as a “barn find” and in largely original condition with a guide of £198,000 to £263,000 ($300,000 to $400,000, €280,000 to €373,000) by Christie’s in 2007, the car has now been completely restored and is now on offer for a staggering £1.4 million to £1.6 million ($2.2 million to $2.5 million, €2.1 million to €2.3 million).
Two stories to keep beside you
For the love of wine
Palazzo di Amore: The most expensive property currently on the market in America Whilst a “top ten” list last week chronicled the world’s most expensive homes and placed a value of £1 billion on Buckingham Palace, a billionaire looking for somewhere to park their money could get a relative bargain if they were to […]
Fire up the Quattro
An Audi Quattro heads to auction with a staggering guide price of £220,000 to £280,000 and confirms the car firmly out of the reach of being afforded by police detectives
Described as being of French Art Moderne in terms of its design style and being the personification of “the country of France on wheels: bright, modern, spectacular and proud”, this particular Bugatti was exhibited at the 1939 New York World’s Fair and has won awards at Pebble Beach, the Saratoga Invitational and the Lake Mirror Classic since being restored.
Subscribe to our free once daily email newsletter here:[contact-form-7 id=”225″ title=”Contact form 1″]
Readers have their say
2 comments
Really elegant car. One of the most beautiful and well proportioned vehicles produced by Bugatti.
The Olympic – Titanic switch, and enormous Lloyds loss
Guggenheim’s father perished – like John Jacob Astor and fifteen hundred others, in the Titanic disaster, which will be found to be the greatest insurance fraud ever perpetrated