Bugatti Type 37 set for Coys auction

A 1926 Bugatti Type 37 worth around half-a-million pounds will be going under the hammer at Coys Blenheim palace auction on Saturday, 15 July.

The Bugatti was one of the three that world speed record holder and London Bugatti dealer Malcolm Campbell purchased from the Works in the Spring of 1926. It was then sold to W. B. Scott (Bummer to his friends), a regular competitor at Brooklands and very well known in the racing scene at the time. Scott raced it at Brooklands in 1927.

The car changed hands a few times before being purchased by R. MacLeod-Carey in 1934. In 1940, he sold it to Dudley Gahagan, who owned it for 57 years before bequeathing it to the current vendor in 1997.

Gahagan was well established in the classic car world, being involved in the early days of the Vintage Sports Car Club and running the classic restoration business Rees Brothers of Aldershot in Hampshire. He campaigned his Type 37 at numerous hill climbs, time and speed trials, including the Prescott Hill Climb, Goodwood, Brighton Speed Trials, and Silverstone track on over 20 occasions from 1949 through to 1992.

The Type 37 was comprehensively restored from 2002 to 2008, and since has been used sparingly. It is offered with its original chassis, gearbox, and both front and rear axles. It is estimated at £400,000 to £600,000.