One of the most fabled Bugatti racing cars is the Type 59/50B works monoposto, driven by Jean-Pierre Wimille in the 1939 Prescott Hillclimb and other events in-period with much success. The original car is today part of the renowned Schlumpf Collection in Molsheim, thus leaving recreations built in its spirit as the nearest experience available to mere mortals.

The example offered here is one such fine evocation. Its genesis was in an acquisition of parts in Amsterdam by the prolific early Dutch vintage automobile trader Bart Loyens, including the engine number 295 from Type 57 number 57410, and an early Type 57 frame of unknown identity. Loyens sold this collection and additional parts to Ray Jones, known for his involvement in numerous Bugatti projects in this era. Working on behalf of his client Gentry Smith, Jones shortened the frame, mounted hydraulic brakes of the type used on later Type 57s, fitted four carburetors to the engine, and commissioned the Type 59/50B monoposto-style body, which according to the consignor was built by Bob Moser. Original front and rear axles were utilized, along with period deRam-style friction shocks.

Smith sold the incomplete project to F.W. Durand of Solana Beach, California, from whose estate it passed in 1981 to Jim Hull, then in the early stages of longtime Bugatti enthusiasm. Hull completed the Bugatti in time for that year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and went on to race it several times at Laguna Seca. In the early 1990s it was passed to his longtime collecting partner, the renowned French automobile enthusiast and proprietor of the former Mullin Automotive Museum, Peter Mullin. Mullin largely kept the car in storage at Jim Stranberg’s High Mountain Classics, and eventually sold it to the consignor, who had it completely rebuilt by David North’s North Street Garage in Maryland for further and continued use. According to the consignor, the restoration included a new block machined by High Mountain Classics and assembled by Leydon Restorations, with a Crower two-piece crankshaft, lightweight Carillo rods, Arias forged pistons, and the prior period four-carburetor intake manifold with period Solex carburetors, dyno-tested afterward at 160 horsepower and 190 pound-feet of torque, with the dyno sheets on file. Power is delivered through a pre-war four-speed ZF gearbox with twin-stick overdrive. Further additional information on the build is included in the history file.

Since driven further at Laguna Seca and occasionally exhibited at concours, this remains a robust driver’s Bugatti, with the same thrills that the original once provided the great Wimille.