Rare car returns to spotlight
CHRISTCHURCH: A rare vintage Bugatti roadster, once owned by a member of the Louis Vuitton family, and which was stored in a reclusive New Zealand engineer’s shed for five decades, has sold for an undisclosed sum, understood to be more than $2 million.
The 1934 Bugatti Type 57 Gangloff Roadster was left behind by Central Otago mechanical engineer Bob Turnbull, of Ophir, after he died in 2012, aged 82.
It has since undergone a groundup restoration to what is believed to be its original colours of pearl with burgundy trim.
The Bugatti, which had been on the market for $4 million, has been bought by Auckland businessman Steve Lockwood in a sale managed by North Canterbury classic car specialists Waimak Classic Cars.
‘‘New Zealand is a young country. It is a responsibility we all have to preserve our own history for our future genera tions,’’ Mr Lockwood said.
It is understood Mr Lockwood plans to offer the car for display around prominent New Zea land car museums so ‘‘all Kiwis could enjoy and learn about this unique vehicle, its provenance and the legend behind it — Bob Turnbull’’.
Proceeds from the sale go to the Bob Turnbull Charitable Trust, established to help potential engineering students and help enable improvement of the social, cultural, educational, economic and spiritual lives of Mr Turnbull’s Central Otago community.
The Bugatti Type 57 is one of the most revered models in the glittering history of the famous French marque.
It features cuttingedge engineering, for its time, in all aspects of its chassis, suspension, engine, and driveline which allowed for unparalleled levels of performance and onroad refinement.
During the car’s time in France, it was owned by a member of the Louis Vuitton fashion designer family and also an Austrian aristocrat.
In 1956, it was imported into New Zealand for £350.
A year later, Mr Turnbull — who is credited with developing a key element of Hamilton Jet propulsion units — bought it and transported it to the tiny Central Otago goldmining town of Ophir, where it remained for the past 50 years.
— NZME