• Early 'Brescia Modifiée' type engine • Formerly owned in the USA • Present ownership in Scandinavia since 1974 • Offered for restoration Introduced in 1913 and listed until 1926, the Type 23 was directly descended from first Bugatti to be built at Molsheim: the short-wheelbase Type 13 of 1910.

By the early 1930s, Ettore Bugatti - 'Le Patron' - had established an unrivalled reputation for building cars with outstanding performance on road or track, the world's greatest racing drivers enjoying countless successes aboard the Molsheim factory's products and often choosing them for their everyday transport.

Bugatti's origins, though, were a far cry from the glamorous world of Grands Prix.

Italian-born engineer Ettore Bugatti had learned his trade with De Dietrich, Mathis and Deutz before setting up his own factory in 1910 at Molsheim in Alsace, which was then part of Germany.

While with Deutz he designed the Type 10, its number reflecting his nine previous designs, and this would serv...