The Bugatti Type 57 was introduced at the Paris Motor Show in 1933, and approximately 700 examples were built from 1934 to 1939. Well-heeled enthusiasts and drivers flocked to buy this paragon of fast road cars, enticed by its sharp handling, powerful and smooth engine, and impeccable road manners. When the third series of the Type 57 was introduced in 1938, it offered mechanical upgrades such as telescopic shock absorbers and hydraulic brakes, while the variety of body style offerings included Bugatti’s factory-designed four-door Galibier sports saloon, which now featured a more luxurious and spacious interior. The vertical hood louvers of prior years were also replaced by horizontal ones, which gave the large Galibier a more streamlined appearance.

According to the American Bugatti Register, this Type 57, chassis 57752, was completed at the factory in December 1938 as a rolling chassis with an unsupercharged engine (no. 549). In 1939, it was shipped to Bugatti’s agent Garage de S ze in Lyon, France, and subsequently delivered to its first owner, Benoit Levet-Arnaud, with four-door Galibier coachwork and finished in Vert Emeraude (Emerald Green) over Cuir Rouge (Red Leather). A year later, it was returned to the factory to be fitted with a supercharged engine, no. 4C, which had originally been fitted to chassis 57476.

During WWII, the Galibier was relocated to the Somme area of France for safekeeping and returned to Lyon circa 1952. It eventually became the property of B. Quentin, before being acquired in 1960 by F. Chevalerais of Paris, who registered it as “5951 EM 75.” By then, 57752 had been repainted in gray and black.

Following participation in the 1963 International Bugatti Rally in Cheltenham, UK, the Type 57 was purchased by Christian Chassaing de Borredon in 1964 and registered as “951 FJ 78.” It was then displayed in the Mus e du Bec Hellouin before being sold in the late 1960s to a Japanese collector who retained the car for nearly two decades. At some point in the late 1980s or early 1990s, 57752 was exported to the US, where in 1991 it underwent a significant restoration carried out by premier restoration firm Hill & Vaughn. The Galibier was finished in a sophisticated color scheme of black with deep red highlights and a two-tone interior of supple red leather upholstery and beige headliner and carpets.

After being acquired by the consignor in 2009, the Galibier was the recipient of a comprehensive frame-off restoration by the Scottsdale Automotive Museum, resulting in showings at significant concours events, including the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2011 and Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in 2013.

A delicate synergy of a road-going saloon and race-bred engineering for which Bugatti was famous, this supercharged Galibier is an outstanding example of the company’s best touring model and a proud testament to le pur-sang des automobiles – the automobile in its more pure-blooded form.