Can you help me identify this beautiful vintage British sports car?
September 7, 2011 3:02 AM Subscribe
I've been wondering and Googling for some time about the make and model of the extremely beautiful vintage-looking British sports car that's seen here sitting outside one of my all-time favourite English country pubs. One day, I'd like to own one, so I'm hoping it turns out to be repro...
Can anyone suggest what it might be? And if not that, what it might resemble?
Best answer: That's a kit reproduction of the Type 35 Bugatti (a French car). The real thing will set you back into seven figures (current market is roughly 1,500,000 GBP), so a kit isn't a bad choice.
There is a firm in Argentina making "tool room" copies of the original with but a couple of minor details incorrect, however those will still set you back big bucks, 100,000+ GBP as I recall.
The one you spotted is probably glassfibre and based on the mechanical pieces of something like an MG Midget, though the wheels and brakes are definitely not from an MG. Some details which suggest this is a less expensive kit include the petrol filler and location, the small diameter wheels (compared to the original) and the steering wheel. It's not an abysmal effort, though--sometimes kits can be quite tacky.
There seems to be a manufacturer of replicas in the UK, TEAL Cars, which seem to vary from fairly authentic looking to not so much. I think, looking through some images on the linked site, that might be what you spotted.
posted by maxwelton at 3:44 AM on September 7, 2011 [4 favorites]
There is a firm in Argentina making "tool room" copies of the original with but a couple of minor details incorrect, however those will still set you back big bucks, 100,000+ GBP as I recall.
The one you spotted is probably glassfibre and based on the mechanical pieces of something like an MG Midget, though the wheels and brakes are definitely not from an MG. Some details which suggest this is a less expensive kit include the petrol filler and location, the small diameter wheels (compared to the original) and the steering wheel. It's not an abysmal effort, though--sometimes kits can be quite tacky.
There seems to be a manufacturer of replicas in the UK, TEAL Cars, which seem to vary from fairly authentic looking to not so much. I think, looking through some images on the linked site, that might be what you spotted.
posted by maxwelton at 3:44 AM on September 7, 2011 [4 favorites]
Wow... always thought Bugatti to be an Italian car, but indeed it is French... lovely car indeed!
posted by TolkienLibrary at 4:41 AM on September 7, 2011
posted by TolkienLibrary at 4:41 AM on September 7, 2011
Response by poster: Ooh, a Bugatti! That's even better than I'd hoped. Thank you indeed.
posted by pyotrstolypin at 5:06 AM on September 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by pyotrstolypin at 5:06 AM on September 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
TolkienLibrary, Bugatti was born in Italy, but moved to Alsace for a job and started his company there.
posted by dhartung at 8:13 AM on September 7, 2011
posted by dhartung at 8:13 AM on September 7, 2011
TolkienLibrary: Founder Ettore Bugatti was in fact Italian (born in Milan), so you're half-right. I've often wondered why he set up his factory in Alsace, but extensive googling didn't help.
posted by aqsakal at 8:14 AM on September 7, 2011
posted by aqsakal at 8:14 AM on September 7, 2011
There's a little history at http://goo.gl/uGSVZ; Ettore had been working in Cologne, but quit in 1909 to set up on his own. Alsace was then part of Germany (Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71) and Ettore got a good deal on a vacant dyeworks in Molsheim, not far from Niederbronn, where Ettore had his first auto design gig in 1901.
posted by technocrat at 12:20 PM on September 7, 2011
posted by technocrat at 12:20 PM on September 7, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by caek at 3:10 AM on September 7, 2011 [1 favorite]