Another Unrestored Bugatti Wins a Major Concours—Is This a Trend?

A 1928 Bugatti Type 35C with battle scars up and down its sides that has been kept running and has been driven and raced regularly its entire 96-year life just won the Concours d’Etat at Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille, one of the leading concours in the world. This came less than a month after another beater Bugatti, an unrestored 1934 Type 59, won Best in Show at Pebble Beach.

What is going on with the world?

What does this say for all those billionaires who just spent—and are now spending—millions and millions of dollars finding and restoring Daimler Double Sixes, Duesenberg Models J, and Mercedes 540Ks?

Has the world suddenly realized it’s not about whether there’s grass in your tire treads or period-correct original-looking paint overspray in the wheel wells? Is it now all about beauty and inspiration instead of whether all the lugnuts are aligned in perfect symmetry?

Could be.

“It’s untouched,” said Vincent Culp, who drove the Type 35C around the big gravel circle at Chantilly and who works for the German collection that owns the car. “It was delivered new in 1928 as a Bugatti factory car, as a race car. It competed at the Targa Florio, and then it was sold to different privateers who also raced it.”

The distinct red paint job you see was applied at the direction of the Bugatti’s second owner, an Italian living in France, who decided to paint the car red at the recommendation of Ettore Bugatti himself in the early 30s. The car still sports that original red paint from 1933.

How did it manage to stay in such great shape for 96 years?

“I think we would have to ask all of the previous owners, because many of them had the car for over 20 years, and no one has really decided to restore it,” Culp said. “No one has decided to change the patina. The only thing they did is keep it up and running and use it.”

The previous owner raced it at Goodwood early in the 2000s. Culp himself has driven it before.

“It’s unbelievable. I mean, sitting in that car here, we only drove at very slow speeds, but if you take it out for a spin, it’s one of the most fantastic cars to drive: the sound, the directness you get from the steering, from the throttle. It’s unbelievable for a car almost 100 years old.”

Yes, the red Bugatti is coming up on a century of driving fun.

“Almost 100 years of history,” Culp said. “And we just added another chapter to the entire book of this beautiful car.”

The Bugatti won Best of Show in what was called the Concours d’Etat for Pre-War Cars. A restored car won Best of Show for Post-War cars, the 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 GS Grand Sport Saoutchik Fastback Coupé from the Paris Auto Show of that year.

It is owned by Robert Kudela of Chropyně in the Czech Republic. You may remember Kudela from Pebble Beach this year, where he was runner-up to Best of Show with another Talbot-Lago T26. He was also a runner-up a few years ago with a third Talbot-Lago, the cute and beautiful “Zipper Car” built for a 1930s zipper magnate with its hood painted to look like it was opening like a zipper.

The Chantilly winning Talbot-Lago is the second of two cars Kudela bought from a collector in Los Angeles. The first won at Chantilly in 2019. They started restoration of this car in 2015 and continued through COVID until it was finished in 2022. The car is not a regular production unit.

“It’s a one-off of one-offs,” Kudela said. “The mechanical specification is a completely one-off special order for a board member of Talbot-Lago. And so the mechanical specification is a one-off built by the Talbot factory, and then it received a one-off body on top of that. So it’s a one-off of one-offs.”

And like the Bugatti, it’s fun to drive.

“It’s a rocket on the wheel,” said Kudela. “It has the Grand Prix engine and 260 horsepower. So it’s like, run like hell.”

The third main category of winner at this show is unique to Chantilly and goes back to the original spirit of concours of the 1920s and 1930s where manufacturers would exhibit their greatest creations with an accompanying female model dressed in an outfit that matched the car.

“Ten cars were judged at this seventh edition of the Concours d'Elegance… In the image of the Concours d'Elegance of the 1920s,” said a release from organizers. “These extraordinary gatherings where exceptional cars of the era, often personalized by famous coach builders, were exhibited in the company of elegant women dressed in the latest fashions by the great names of French fashion, the concept cars paraded in the company of their regular models.”

So, on the Sunday before Fashion Week in Milan to the south, each car would parade around the circle for guests accompanied by a model wearing outfits designed to match it. This year there were 10 manufacturers taking part, each with its own concept car:

• Alfa Romeo Stradale 33

• Alpine Zagato

• AGTZ Twin Tail

• Bugatti Tourbillon

• DS SM Tribute

• Lamborghini Countach

• Lancia Pu+Ra HPE

• Maserati Gran Cabrio Folgore

• McLaren Senna Sempre

• Quarkus P3 Pikes Peak

• Renault R17

The winner was the Lancia Pu+Ra HPE, an electric concept with a range of over 434 miles that can recharge in 10 minutes, Lancia claimed. It shows where the brand is headed in the future, and that there is a future for that storied name.

“70% of its aesthetic surface is sustainable,” Lancia said. “The seats are made by reinterpreting Lancia fabric, the carpet is made of natural fiber, the glass components of the car are made of recycled material. The perfect synthesis of our idea of the future.”

On top of all that were over 900 cars brought from 40 car clubs across Europe, everything from Jaguars and Porsches to a good representation of American cars.

It was an entirely lovely day. Granted, there are areas for improvement organizers should work on. Traffic getting in and out of the show was horrendous. There were stories of people taking three hours to get into the parking area, which was a huge grass field with only one way in, one car at a time.

They have to open up another 25 gates into and out of that parking compound. And they need to just about quadruple the number of luxury restrooms and food trucks.

But there was a dress code that everyone seemed to follow. I myself even bought a suit. A suit! Tickets were only 25 Euros, or about 28 bucks. Anybody remember when Pebble was that cheap? Or Cavallino Classic? Or even Villa d’Este?

You could probably get a flight deal to Paris for less than it costs to get into any other major concours and it wouldn’t include a castle, or chateau as they’re called over here. So start planning now to make it to Chantilly next year, before the event gets taken over by corporations and yuppies. See you there. A bien toute!

What do you think of a second unrestored car winning a major concours? Please comment below.