NZ-born engineer’s Bugatti up for sale
When New Zealander Bill Turnbull began work in the late sixties on restoring a vintage Bugatti he was determined to return it to its former glory as one of the most sought after cars of its age.
Now, after a half century of painstaking dedication, the car he so lovingly restored is to be auctioned for an estimated £5 million (NZ$9.6m) to £7m.
Turnbull is no longer around to enjoy the fruits of his labour. He died in 2019, at the age of 89, before he could fully complete his lifetime’s project. Vintage car experts have paid tribute to the North Staffordshire engineer’s work, saying that without his skill and dedication the vehicle might have been lost forever.
After buying the Bugatti Type
57S Turnbull, who moved to Britain from New Zealand in 1959, began the complicated task of repairing and restoring every nut, bolt and moving part.
He became determined to restore the car after noticing a troubling noise from the gearbox while taking part in the Prescott hill climb, in Gloucestershire, shortly after buying the vehicle for
£1500 in May 1969. Turnbull never drove the 57S again, and dismantled and rebuilt the engine more than once, carrying out the most complex work himself despite in later years suffering from double vision, which forced him to wear an eye patch, following a stroke.
Over the decades Turnbull, who went on to become one of JCB’s chief engineers, overhauled and reassembled most of the car’s components. Experts estimate that the car needs another nine months of work to fully restore its original bodywork, upholstery and hood to Turnbull’s exacting standards.
The 57S, one of only 42 produced, goes under the hammer on Friday, local time, as part of Bonhams’ Legends of the Road sale. –