160 bhp, 3,257 cc dual overhead cam inline eight-cylinder engine, single updraught Stromberg UUR2 carburettor and Roots-type supercharger, four-speed Cotal gearbox, solid front axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, live rear axle with quarter-elliptic leaf springs, and four-wheel mechanical brakes.

Wheelbase: 130 in.

• The first customer-ordered and delivered Type 57C • Beautiful, original example • Sensational mid-production Stelvio coachwork by Gangloff • Jean Bugatti’s most celebrated road car • Only four owners from new; one owner for 40 years Few figures in the history of automotive design, manufacture, and motorsports loom larger than Ettore Bugatti, the Italian-born engineer who founded a legend with his factory-estate in Molsheim, Alsace.

One of the early-20th century vanguards of racing and design, Bugatti was an innovator whose cars routinely racked up Grand Prix wins, forging a reputation as an industry leader in both technical development and aesthetic styling.

But as f...