Pebble Beach 2008: Williamson Bugattis sell, one sets record (sort of)
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As expected, Dr. Peter and Susan Williamson’s collection of Bugattis brought a large crowd to the Gooding & Co. auction at Pebble Beach. The results were decidedly mixed, with some cars selling for well below estimate — the Type 46 Sport Saloon, the ‘Baby Royale,’ sold for a mere $400,000 — and other cars prompting lively bidding wars.
The star of the evening didn’t disappoint. The matching-number Atalante, the two-tone green 57SC, sold for huge dollars: $7.2 million. David Gooding claimed from the rostrum that this was a record for a Bugatti, and though I defer to Gooding in expertise, it seems to me the 5.5 million pounds paid at Christie’s in 1987 for a 1931 Bugatti Royale Berline sports coupe is still the record, especially if you consider inflation-adjusted dollars and pounds.
Here are the results of the sale:
CAR / ESTIMATE / SALE PRICE
1927 Bugatti Type 35B Grand Prix / $1,100,000-$1,600,000 / $1.325M
1914 Peugeot Bebe two-seat roadster (Bugatti designed) / $30,000-$40,000 / $40,000
1929 Bugatti Type 44 Dual-Cowl Phaeton / $200,000-$300,000 / $240,000
1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante Coupe / Estimate on request / $7.2M
1926/41 Bugatti Type 35/Miller Four-Cam V-8 / $800,000-$1,200,000 / $475,000
1932 Bugatti Type 55 ‘Jean Bugatti Roadster’ / $1,400,000-$2,100,000 / $1.6M
1932 Bugatti Type 46 Sport Saloon / $650,000-$850,000 / $400,000
1939 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante Coupe / $900,000-$1,200,000 / $800,000
1927 Bugatti Type 38 Roadster / $80,000-$120,000 / $180,000
1939 Bugatti Type 57C Galibier Sport Saloon / $350,000-$500,000 / $360,000
1931 Bugatti Type 35A/Type 51 Grand Prix / $1,300,000-$1,800,000 / $825,000
1934 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet / $500,000-$700,000 / $660,000
1926 Bugatti Type 52 Short Nose ‘Baby Bugatti’ / $40,000-$60,000 / $TBD
— Dan Neil
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