Jersey title

Chassis no. 57182 Engine no. 160

- Exceptional original condition

- Continuous, well-documented history, with its original engine

- In the same ownership since 1986

- One of just 45 Stelvios bodied by Bugatti

 

 The Bugatti Type 57 we are presenting is exceptional on account of its bodywork, original condition and history, in the hands of enthusiasts who have treated it with the utmost respect.

Its chassis, no. 57182, was assembled in November 1934 at the Bugatti works with its engine no. 160, at the same time as the Type 57s with engines 148 and 166. It was then fitted with a Stelvio body. The Stelvio name was first seen in the spring of 1934 when the first four-seat cabriolets on the Type 57 chassis came out. A name given by the factory, it was initially intended for the 45 bodies built at the workshop in Molsheim from 1934–1936 and was then taken up by Gangloff for the cars it produced from 1936–1939. The first Stelvio cabriolet with a Bugatti body was built in January 1934, the second in March and the third at the end of April, the start of no more than 25 examples produced in 1934.

 

In the case of this chassis 57182/160, the four-seat Stelvio cabriolet body was completed in Bugatti’s workshop on 24 January 1935. The same day, the vehicle was transported by road from Molsheim to Zurich. It was the second of the 16 Stelvio cabriolets built by Bugatti in 1935. They were followed by three final bodies in 1936, giving a total production of Stelvio cabriolets by Bugatti of about 45. All the other four-seat Type 57 cabriolets to bear the Stelvio name were the work of the coachbuilder Gangloff in Colmar, from 1936–1939.

 

This particular cabriolet was officially exported to Switzerland on 21 February 1935, with the formalities carried out at the border post at Basel-Dreispitz. Its weight was noted at 1457kg and it was supplied, through the Bugatti agent for Europe, B.U.C.A.R in Zurich, to its first owner, an industrialist from Dottikon (in the canton of Aargau), Kurt Fischer. Fischer joined the family business ‘Ernest H. Fischer Söhne’, which produced textiles and straw hats, in 1921, and soon showed an interest in motorbikes, taking part in various competitive events, and then in cars. An excellent driver, he liked to drive fast and was naturally a member (and probably one of the founders) of the Swiss Bugatti Club, established in 1935.

In 1935, his garage was already home to some fine machines, including his brother Ernest’s Type 49 Gangloff cabriolet, and in September 1936 the Stelvio was joined by an Atalante coupé on a 57 S chassis! For the time being, the cabriolet no. 57182 was registered as AG 4386 and photographs of it when it was new, taken at the Fischer works around 1937, show that it was finished in a single, light colour.

Fischer doubtless kept the cabriolet until 1947, when it was bought by Erwin Eckert, a sales representative from Baden, also in the Aargau, who registered it as AG 4634. He kept the Bugatti until about 1952, before it was bought by Adolf Ruegg, an art dealer in Zurich. It was then registered as ZH 63166.

At the end of the 1950s, it was sold to Daniel Baeschlin, a teacher living in Basel, and registered as BS 44770. It was ivory in colour when Baeschlin bought it, but in 1961 he had it repainted in its original blue; in photos from the period, it appears to be in very good condition and in a rather light shade of blue.

 

In 1970, the Stelvio was sold to Thiebo Vos, an enthusiast from Pully, near Lausanne. He sold it a few years later to Franco Sbarro, at the time the regular mechanic for Georges Filipinetti's collection at the Château de Grandson, on the shore of Lake Neuchâtel. In 1986, the car left Switzerland for the island of Jersey, where it joined the collection of its current owner. With his wife Victoria, he took part in several rallies and, in 1977, they drove to Lacanau in south-western France with 11 other cars from the Jersey Old Motor Club, founded in 1966, of which the current owner was the chair from 1989–1993.

 

Today, this Stelvio cabriolet is remarkable for its original condition. Since its purchase in 1986, it has covered 47,293km and 30 years ago, a complete mechanical overhaul was carried out by Tula Engineering, who also fitted new pistons in 2017. More recently, the correct Ram front shock absorbers for the model were fitted by Ivan Dutton Ltd. To do so, on 28 November 2024 the car was driven the 150km from Portsmouth to Dutton’s workshop without any mechanical or other problems.

The car has its chassis plate engraved ‘57182 Bas Rhin 19 CV’ and the crankcase is marked with its original numbers 160 and 57182. The engine is rigidly attached to the chassis with the exhaust to the front, in line with the first model of the Type 57 chassis presented at the Paris Motor Show in 1933.

The leather upholstery and interior of the car are completely original, and the dashboard is from the first model with a large Jaeger speedometer incorporating an ammeter and gauges for fuel, oil pressure and water temperature. The exterior paint is old and undoubtedly close to the original colours.

 

The overall appearance of this Stelvio cabriolet is that of a car which has been perfectly maintained, without being spoiled by a restoration which would have taken away the lovely rare patina that in no way detracts from the pleasure of using it. This first-series Stelvio cabriolet has been used for nearly 40 years by its current owner, regardless of distance and without any problems, and asks only to continue its travels throughout Europe in the hands of its new owner.

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The hammer price will be VAT excluded to which should be added 5.5% VAT. Upon request, this VAT will be refunded to the purchaser on presentation of written proof of exportation outside the EU or to the EU purchaser who will submit his intracommunity VAT number and a proof of shipment of his purchase to his EU country home address.



Photos © Simon Clay