Bugattis at Classy Chassis

First of all, Houston is not a place where I expect to find many Bugattist/es. In fact, I feared that the Bugatti pickins would be slim. Indigenous Texas truck culture aside, we Houstonians inhabit a “little bit country, little bit rock and roll” cosmopolis with a penchant (hooray!) for older and newer muscle car horsepower and (alas!) for huge SUVs and Hummers. Moreover, our major auto collectors tend toward reticence on home turf, possibly because Houston is still more autorama than concours. But when I scanned the thoroughbreds gracing Reliant’s made-for-football arena and spotted John O’Quinn’s Bugatti Type 57C Atalante, one of several cars on exhibit from the Houston attorney’s worthy stable, I quickly revised my expectations. Bugattist/es proved plentiful: exhibitors, enthusiasts like myself, and enthralled learners.

Teens and young adults, of course, gravitated to the Ferraris, Lambos, Maseratis, Porsches, and 1960s Mustangs. I did, however, spot several youngsters posing for photos alongside Bugattis, mainly the 2008 Veyron 16.4 exhibited by Graham Hill (St. Louis, Missouri), and the stunning 1937 Type 57/59 Special Roadster belonging to Ron and Sonya Kellogg (Whittier, California).

Secondly, the diversity of Bugattis in the concours well-represented the production, competition, and social history of the marque. At one end of the spectrum gleamed that brand new Veyron, sporting its 1000 hp Volkswagen engine, clearly intended for clients lodged in the top echelon of the world’s wealthy. The oldest Bugattis on display, the fetching 1923 Type 23 Brescia Tourer of Christopher Owen (Stockbridge, Massachusetts) and 1924 Type13 Brescia (dog-cart body) of Chrisso Rheault (New Gloucester, Maine), were, like all Ettore Bugatti’s cars, expensive and elegant; but Type 13 and the T23 would, as Veyron surely will not, be seen on the road and on the track for many years. Ettore Bugatti, desired and achieved a brilliant entente of exclusivity and availability. The eclectic life of Rheault’s Brescia is engagingly described by Bob King in The Bugattis of Australasia (1992).

Although the famed Type 35B race car, which dominated Grand Prix racing from the mid- through late-1920s, had no representative at Classy Chassis, George Davidson’s (Louisville, Kentucky) and David Duthu’s (Houston, Texas) 1925 Type 35As, unsupercharged GP cars distinguished by wire rather than alloy wheels, spoke for all the Type 35 racing thoroughbreds. Richard Hansen’s (Batavia, Illinois) Type 51 GP car, one of only 40 produced, enhanced the entourage of Type 35s and their progeny.

Bohuslav Klein and Roland Saunier of Prague, Czech Republic, who have just published the inaugural Type 46 (“Petite Royale”) Register, would have admired the two Type 46 coupes on display: John Ridings Lee’s (Dallas, Texas) 1929 Semi-Profilé coupe, one of three known, and Peter and Merle Mullins’ (Los Angeles, California) 1930 DeVillars convertible coupe, a bright burnt orange and black painted car with an equally colorful Greek heritage. The car has distinctive Stephen Grebel headlights and spotlight

Type 49 and Type 54 models were also on exhibit, and the Veyron was not alone among the newer Bugatti models. John O’Quinn’s 1950 Type 101 Van Antem coupe, previously owned by actor Nicholas Cage, and his bright blue 1994 EB110 attracted much attention. The Type 101 was one of the last Bugattis designed and constructed at the Molsheim factory.

The Type 57s always please and always have a substantial presence at concourses. I have to admit, however, to disappointment that the Best of Show award went almost predictably to the Petersen Museum’s beautifully restored 1939 Type 57C VanVooren two-seater convertible, a car specially built a la Figoni’s dramatic style as a wedding present from the French government to Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, future Shah of Iran. Lovely and unrestored is Paul Simms’ (Glen Ellyn, Illinois) 1937 T57 Gangloff-Stelvio convertible.

Two interesting, and equally beautiful, Type 57s were the Graber bodied 1936 convertible owned by Liliane Quon McCain (Beverly Hills, California) and the 1939 Type 57C Letourner et Marchand four-seater convertible owned by James Foght (Winnetka, Illinois). Liliane McCain’s car has been in her family since it was ordered by and delivered to her father-in-law in Switzerland in 1936. Arnold Kropf, who drove the car regularly, willed it to his daughter-in-law rather than his son, because he knew she would take care of it and keep it in the family. The car is 99% original (it has been repainted in the original colors) and is in excellent and driving condition. The Foght car deserves the frame-off restoration it has undergone. Like so many of Europe’s pre-WWII grand cars, some of which were even disassembled, this Type 57 spent time in hiding and was temporarily lost during the Nazi occupation. It was commandeered by the US military in 1945, then sold by the French government, and finally ended up in the United States.

Non-Bugattis sustained spectator interest, of course, particularly if they were very old, very large, or very Ferrari fast. More viewers than I also appreciated oppositions like that between the tremendous 1930 Minerva and tiny 2008 Smart Car, or between the world class Veyron and the local, highly modified 1929 Ford Model A, aptly named “The Waco Kid.” One car I had never encountered before, a 1910 Bianchi, owned by John Alkire and Lee Brown of nearby Friendswood, astonished me for its size and accouterments.

I congratulate Clay and Lolly Becker for bringing to Houston vehicles of such pronounced history and beauty.

The the sixth Classy Chassis will be held June 14, 2009, at Reliant Stadium. The featured marques will be Ferrari and Packard

The author would like to thank to Sandy Leith, ABC Registrar, for for his clarifications about the history of Bugattis.