Respect and Responsibility: Restoring the Itier Bugatti

By Henrik Schou-Nielsen (and staff)

Danish architect Henrik Schou-Nielsen tells us the fascinating story of a famous racing Bugatti that seemed to have disappeared over the years, only to be found at long last hiding under a striking art deco styled roadster. The discovery resulted in a 10 year project that skilfully preserved two very different Bugattis, one of which turned out to be the Grand Prix Bugatti raced by Anne-Cécile Itier in the 1930s. We’ll let Schou-Nielsen take it from here.

Anne-Cécile Itier may not be familiar to all, but in a career spanning from the late 1920s to the early 1950s, Anne-Cécile Itier was the most active female racing amateur in France. She participated in everything from Grand Prix racing to hill climbs and rallies. She entered Le Mans five times – a female record – and ran the Monte Carlo seven times. Her peers were Hellé Nice and Elizabeth Junek. The car she used for most of her competitive years was that long lost T51A.