Bugatti Type 46 Faux Cabriolet

1930 Bugatti Type 46 Faux Cabriolet by Veth & Zoon

Offered by Mecum | Las Vegas, Nevada | November 17, 2018

Photo – Mecum

“Convertibles are cool and I want to be cool but I don’t want to be outside,” said someone who ordered a Faux Cabriolet body for a Bugatti. This is a Type 46, one of the most “common” and often-seen Bugatti models. It was built between 1929 and 1936.

Power comes from a 5.4-liter straight-eight that made 140 horsepower. A rare supercharged version, the Type 46S, was offered beginning in 1930. This car carries coachwork from Dutch coachbuilders Veth & Zoon. In all, about 444 examples of the Type 46 were built.

This car was delivered new to the Netherlands, thus the locally-built body. It was restored in the 2000s and looks amazing, if understated, from the outside. I almost made the lead image a shot of the engine, because it’s a work of art. Mecum estimates this car is worth somewhere between $1,150,000-$1,250,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,012,000.

Bugatti Petit Royale

1930 Bugatti Type 46 Coupe de Ville

Offered by Osenat | Strasbourg, France | May 1, 2018

Photo – Osenat

This car might look like one of the ultra-rare, ultra-pricey, ultra-huge Bugatti Type 41 Royales – but it isn’t. But it is supposed to look like one. There are only six Royales around but there were about 400 Type 46s built. And this one was constructed to look just like it’s much larger brother.

The Type 46 was built between 1929 and 1936 (which includes the supercharged Type 46S variant). The engine is a 5.4-liter straight-eight good for 140 horsepower in naturally-aspirated form. This particular car was discovered in France in the 1970s and all that was salvageable was the engine and some parts. Replica isn’t quite the right word, but the owners decided to take what they’d found and build to-scale version of their favorite Royale.

Built to exacting 0.87 scale, the new body is fantastic. The project was completed in 1986 but records have been identified that trace the history of at least the engine back to new. You’re never going to get the opportunity to acquire a true Royale, so you might as well buy a car that looks just like it from the same manufacturer. It is expected that $430,000-$550,000 will be needed to take this home. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $459,937.

Bugatti 46 by Weymann

1930 Bugatti Type 46 Sportsman’s Saloon by Weymann

Offered by Bonhams | Chichester, England | June 30, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

In 1929, Bugatti introduced a new road car dubbed the Type 46. It would spawn a very rare supercharged variant the following year (the Type 46S) and a short-wheelbase cousin called the Type 50. The Type 50B was the only racing version of the Type 46 family. Production on the Type 46 ended in 1936.

These cars are powered by a 5.4-liter straight-eight making 140 horsepower. It was a pretty large and heavy chassis at 138 inches (eight inches longer than a modern Chevy Suburban), so it’s no wonder Bugatti chose the short wheelbase version for the race car.

This car was one of 35 Bugatti chassis ordered by its London distributor and was bodied in the U.K. by Weymann. It’s history goes back to new but the current family has owned it for 42 years. The Type 46 was a popular Bugatti, with 400 built. This one should bring between $210,000-$260,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

S/N # 46219

Update: Sold $365,332.

Bugatti Superprofile

1930 Bugatti Type 46 Superprofile Coupe

Offered by RM Auctions | Lake Como, Italy | May 25, 2013

1930 Bugatti Type 46 Superprofile Coupe

Photo – RM Auctions

I’ll start this off by saying that this is not an original Bugatti Superprofile Coupe. It is an original Bugatti Type 46, but the body has been redone in the style of Jean Bugatti’s famous Superprofile car.

The Type 46 uses a 5.4-liter straight-eight making 140 horsepower. The car originally had a four-door sedan body on it and sometime in the past 15 years, this stunning new body was constructed by Mr. Ken Haywood in Australia. The Coupe Profilée (as Jean’s original drawings were officially referred to) bodystyle was never applied by the factory to a Type 46. One acquired an original Profilée body in the 1960s and that car is in the Schlumpf Collection, never to see the light of day again. The first factory Profilée was on a 1935 Type 50, which was once owned by Bill Harrah. It is valued at about $2 million.

This car sold in March of 2012 for $1,017,500, which was perhaps a little high, considering that, while beautiful and probably better done than any original Bugatti body, it will never be a contender at places like Pebble Beach because it isn’t a period body. And owning a Bugatti like this is all about garnering awards and patting yourself on the back for being able to afford something beautiful that somebody else made.

In all, 450 Type 46s were built between 1929 through 1933. One has a real Profilée body on it from back in the day. This one has a new Profilée body. It’s definitely more valuable than some other Type 46s, but I kind of doubt it will bring the same kind of money it brought last year. But who knows. Click here for more and here for more from what’s shaping up to be a monster sale from RM in Italy.

Update: Sold $873,600.

Bonhams’ Scottsdale Highlights 2013

Bonham’s sale in Scottsdale, Arizona was two days ago (look at this turnaround time!). They were also super-quick in posting their results (thank you). Top sale went to this 1972 Lamborghini Miura SV for $1,215,000.

1972 Lamborghini Miura SV

The top sale would have been our featured Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A, but it failed to sell (actually it sold late, or Bonhams didn’t publish the result at the same time they published the rest of them: it sold for $1,312,500). As did our featured Minerva Convertible Sedan. Another interesting car at this sale was the how-did-I-fail-to-feature-it 1964 Morgan +4+. It’s not a Morgan Plus Four, but a “Plus Four Plus.” These are extremely rare – only 26 were made. This one sold for $230,500.

Two of feature cars did sell. The 1928 Stearns-Knight Roadster sold for $126,000. And the one-off Ferrari 365 GTC Speciale doubled the lower end of its estimate and sold for $885,000 with buyer’s premium. Another interesting car was this 1930 Bugatti Type 46 Faux Cabriolet by Veth & Zoon (one of the more fun among coachbuilder names). It sold for a serious $951,000.

Click here for complete results.