Rare Bugatti cars: 12 cars that were or are in the post-Soviet space

As Ostap Bender said, a car is not a luxury, but a means of transportation. But there is one brand among them that has long ceased to be a means of delivering people from point A to point B. It has really turned into a luxury. We are talking about Bugatti. We decided to look for models of this brand in Belarus and other CIS countries. And - what is important - we found them!

From the first years of its existence, this brand, thanks to the birth in the Bugatti family - aristocrats, painters, sculptors and engineers, was an exclusive product. As Jaap Horst, a researcher of the history of the Bugatti car brand, told us in an interview with us, many of the brand's cars were produced by hand, including only the chassis, electrics, engine and gearbox, and the body was supplied to various European and coachbuilding ateliers. This is one of the reasons that each of the almost 8000 cars produced has become exclusive.

One of the last auctions showed that any Bugatti model remains not only the embodiment of the genius of a famous family, but also has a high value. So, on February 4-5, 2025, a Sotheby's auction was held in Paris, where a 1929 Bugatti Type 37 (estimated value 980,000-1,300,000 euros), a 1933 Bugatti Type 49 convertible coupe from Van Rijswijk (400,000-550,000 euros), a 1936 Bugatti Type 57 convertible from Gangloff (480,000-600,000 euros) were offered.

And many connoisseurs of this brand remember that in 2010, the 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic was sold for a mind-boggling $40,000,000.

Of course, not everyone has the opportunity to join a select group of Bugatti owners united by timeless fashion. According to the Bugatti register, only a few of them were on the territory of the former USSR, and now Russia. We are talking about only 12 classic Bugatti cars of pre-war production. Not a single classic Bugatti model was ever registered in Belarus, which was confirmed by the State Automobile Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.

Below we provide a complete list of Bugatti cars for February 1, 2025. Photo illustrations courtesy of Jaap Horst.

Bugatti "Type 16" - Peugeot Bébé
Year of manufacture - 1912 (seller - Batalin & Plotnikov company, St. Petersburg, 27.2.1912).

The car was delivered to St. Petersburg, the first owner was Tsar Nicholas II (Tsarevich Alexei drove). During World War II, the car was destroyed, but its frame with the original number was later taken to the United States (owned by Dr. Theodore Waugh). The engine was replaced, the car restored by Crosthwaite and Gardiner.

How did this small Bugatti car, and even with the Peugeot label, end up with Tsarevich Alexei? Despite the fact that the name of Ettore Bugatti is associated with fast and powerful or luxurious cars, he started small in the literal sense of the word. The Italian designer sold the unrealized project of one of his first vehicles to the experienced Armand Peugeot, and already in 1912 it was presented at the international exhibition in Paris. The Russian emperor was very fond of French cars, so he immediately noticed the swiftness of the body lines. He bought it for walks in the Alexander Park, and then handed it over to Tsarevich Alexei so that he could master driving skills. In the fleet of Nicholas II, it was then listed under the name Peugeot Bebe BP1, or "Baby Peugeot".

After the revolutionary events, this small car ended up in the Leningrad Palace of Pioneers, where the younger generation received all the same driving skills (at the same time, the car had a 4-cylinder engine and reached a speed of 60 km/h). Many researchers of the pre-revolutionary period of Russian history do not mention this car in the fleet of Nicholas II at all or write that it was irretrievably lost. But this is not true! As mentioned above, the frame of the car was removed, and on its basis the Peugeot Bébé was restored.

Bugatti Type 13
Year of manufacture - 1912 (seller and owner - Batalin & Plotnikov company, St. Petersburg, 13.3.1912).

This is a car with an 8-valve engine. It was brought from the USSR on November 22, 1965 and stored in France. It was called the oldest car of this brand in France. That may have been the case in 1966, but today the Bugatti with chassis number 442 is considered the third oldest existing Bugatti in the world.

In 1966, the car was restored by Mr. Raineri of the Museon di Rodo at Uzes, France, and more recently it has been sold in the United States.

The story of how this car was taken out of the USSR is confusing and dark. Initially, the car was restored and belonged to the famous USSR collector of classic cars Evgeny Gurevich from Tula. Collector Henri Giraudy-Emery, having learned about it, managed to persuade the Soviet government to take the unique car out of the USSR. Gurevich was ready to part with the Bugatti, but set the condition that the car would definitely end up in the museum. Giraud-Emery agreed and subsequently fulfilled his promise. The deal was formalized officially through Vneshtorg, Evgeny Gurevich received 630 rubles.

At least two other 8-valve Bugattis are known to have been imported into Russia by Batalin & Plotnikov company of St. Petersburg:

• Type 15a Berline, Chassis 402, Engine n°: 55 (8-valve), sold 27.2.1912. First owner was said to be Tsar Nicholas II. Only the engine survives
• Type 13 Open 2-seater, Chassis 494. Car was later exported to Denmark, but did not survive.

Bugatti Type 37
Chassis No. 37307, Year of manufacture - 1928 (seller Bucar, Zurich, Switzerland).

Registration — n205nX 750 (Moscow). The original engine number was 221C, for some time a Peugeot engine was installed. The first owner was Countess Margot von Einsiedel who drove the Targa Florio with it in 1928. The car also visited the USA, Great Britain, Germany.

Bugatti Type 38
Chassis no. 38243, engine no. 135. The year of production is 1926.

Four-seater body by Lavocat & Marsaud. The Bugatti was originally sold to Roberto Lee in São Paulo, Brasil. It was put up for sale in 2004 for $150,000. Now it is owned by the Autoville Museum (Moscow).

Bugatti Type 40
Chassis no. 40112, engine no. 22. Year of manufacture - 1926 (agent: Sorel, London, Great Britain).

Former owners: Richard Leeson (UK), Karl Ritter (USA). The original Type 40 engine with the original chassis was restored in the mid-1990s, with a new body in the style of Maron Pot & Cie. The car is in Russian ownership (Moscow).

Bugatti Type 40 Roadster Jean Bugatti
Chassis no. '40442', engine no. 26. The year of production is 1927.

Registration - SO-12447 (Russia), owned by Russian Pavel Gerasimov (since 2018). The car is completely assembled from components from the Molsheim factory, including the body.

Bugatti Type 44, Fiacre coupé body according to a drawing by J. Beer
Chassis no. 44286, engine no. 216. The year of production is 1928.

Originally sold by Bertrand y Sera (Barcelona). Car now belongs to Russian Pavel Gerasimov.

Bugatti Type 44
Chassis no. 44311, engine no. 254. Year of manufacture - 1928 (seller and owner - Sorel, London, Great Britain).

Dual cowl Phaeton from an American coachbuilder. The place of registration is now Moscow, Collection La Colline Moscow- Santori and Karyshmash.

Bugatti Туре 57
Chassis no. 57344, engine no. 265?. The year of production is 1935 (Original owner - H. Matile, Nantes, France).

Now the place of registration is Russia. In 2013, the car still had its original engine with the number 265.

Photo with Pierre Bardinon.

Bugatti Type 57, saloon by Vanvooren
Chassis no. 57414, engine no. 212. Year of production - 1936.

The car has been registered in Russia (Pavel Gerasimov). Currently this car is in Switzerland (and for sale).

Bugatti Type 57
Chassis no. 57435, engine no. 322. Year of manufacture - 1937 (First owner - Peig Seligmann, France).

Currently registered in Russia (Pavel Gerasimov). The car is equipped with a 3.3-liter 8-cylinder engine and a 4-speed gearbox. This is a 4-seater convertible designed by Lucien Schlatter.

Bugatti Туре 57 Ventoux Ettore Bugatti
Chassis no. 57581, engine no. 416. Year of manufacture — 1937.

The engine number is 416. Registration — A781OK 799 (RUS). It had about 20 owners, now it is in Russia. It was the official car in the 1937 Bugatti catalog. For some time it was used by Ettore Bugatti himself.

The original article can be found here: auto.onliner.by/2025/04/07/redkie-bugatti