Engine swap
Sometimes things just happen. This Bugatti Type 35, chassis number #4644, was delivered to the Madrid dealer Bertrand y Serra on 25 November 1925, at that time with engine no. 61. Four years later, the vehicle was owned by Rogelio Periquet, a young Madrid lawyer who also wrote film scripts and opposed the rise of Francisco Franco. It is not entirely clear when exactly this attitude landed the young lawyer in prison, but in any case, his Bugatti was confiscated by the military. We also know that an identical Bugatti, chassis number #4640 and engine number 45, was fitted with an Amilcar engine in the post-war confusion; it is assumed that #4644 received the engine from #4640 at the time, i.e. the 45. Nobody knows what happened to engine 61.
What is certain now, however, is that this Type 35 was bought in 1963 by Dr José Fausto Martinez Moreno, a radiologist from Almeria. In the 1970s, the Bugatti, which was completely original except for the engine, was gently restored in England. Now the ‘eternal’ owner is parting with his vehicle; it will be auctioned by Bonhams in Paris at the beginning of February 2025. A price of 900,000 to 1,300,000 million euros is expected. Yes, we are always amazed that these wonderful Bugattis are relatively inexpensive.
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