Lot Ended
Description
1971 Teal Bugatti Type 59 Replica
From the
Tresham Collection; one of only 13 professionally built by Teal; aluminium
body; Jaguar 4.2 engine and overdrive gearbox; current owner 31 years;
registered as a Historic Vehicle; very nice; very quick!
Ettore
Bugatti’s 1934 Type 59 has already passed into legend as one of the most revered
Grand Prix cars of all time. However, only six were made and the last time one
came up for auction a couple of years ago it made over £9.5m so most of
us are unlikely to own one any time soon.
For the many who yearn for the early Molsheim cars, a replica is
the only conceivable option which is why Ian Foster, a former chassis designer
for Daimler, set up Thistledown Engineering Automotive Ltd in 1983. Better known
as Teal, they specialised in producing replicas of the Bugatti Type 35 with
Morris Marina running gear and GRP bodies.
In
1986 a former AA patrolman called Bob Jones bought Teal from Foster and
decided to step things up a gear, adding a new flagship model to the range as an
homage to the Bugatti Type 59. He came up with a new steel box section chassis
of great strength and rigidity clothed in a hand-made aluminium body and powered
by a Jaguar twin-cam XK engine (either 3.8 or 4.2) and a four-speed manual
gearbox.
Not to be confused with a kit car,
the Type 59 was entirely built by Teal and only 13 were made in total between
1989 and 1995 by which time it cost £28,000 – almost double the average price of
a new car at the time.
Our vendor, a
passionate Jaguar collector, bought this Type 59 from Bob Jones in May 1991
to join a collection of fine cars. It is fitted with a rebuilt Jaguar 4.2 engine
producing well over 200bhp and, bearing in mind an all-up weight of just 17cwt,
is said to be very quick indeed with a top speed of over 140mph if you feel
brave enough!
Features include a 4-speed
overdrive gearbox, twin rear-mounted fuel tanks, red leather seats and a very
business-like milled aluminium dashboard. The suspension is independent
all-round and it has vented disc brakes at the front with drum brakes at the
rear. It rides on painted 18-inch centre-lock 60-spoke wire wheels shod with
Dunlop Racing tyres.
In true Bugatti style the instruments are in French
(huile, essence, tours etc) and it has no odometer so we don't know how many
miles it has done but if it is more than a couple of thousand, we would eat a
Frenchman's beret.
We are told that, apart from
the odd gentle road rally and a few fun runs up Prescott and Shelsley Walsh, it
has been very little used, spending most of its time tucked up within the
collection. We are also told that it has been started and run regularly to keep
everything free and it has certainly been starting easily and running well as we
have moved it around on site, with good 45psi oil pressure.
The V5C records it as a GPB Type 59, declared manufactured in 1971
and first registered in October 1990 which is presumably when it was built,
being reputedly the 4th of the 13 made in total. Classed as a Historic Vehicle,
it is free to tax and is now MOT exempt, the last MOT having expired in October
2012 with no advisories recorded.
In super
condition throughout and looking every inch the pre-war Grand Prix car, this
must be one of the most exciting road cars out there and will turn heads
wherever it goes.
This is one of nine Lots
entered from the Tresham Collection.
For more information contact James on
07970 309907 or email james.dennison@brightwells.com