An ultra-rare Bugatti that was recently discovered in a garage in Great Britain for 50 years sold at an auction in Paris for about $4.4 million Friday.
The 1937 Bugatti Type 57S changed hands at Bonhams' Retromobile car show and sale in Paris for a 3.4 million euros. The previous owner had been Dr. Harold Carr, whose family sold the car after his death. Carr, who died in 2007, was an orthopedic surgeon who drove the car for several years, but he stopped driving it and put the car in storage in the early 1960s. It was stored in his garage in Gosforth, near Newcastle in northern England.

The was originally owned by Earl Howe, a famous British racer car driver. Following World War II, , the Type 57S was sold through Continental Cars to a Mr J. P. Tingay in 1947. Tingay brought the car to "SC" specification by fitting a Marshall K200 supercharger. M. H. Ferguson bought the car from Tingay in 1950. By 1954 it was part of Lord Ridley’s collection. Carr then acquired it in 1955

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What do you all think, was it really worth that much?

Hello again John, in this case your Rembrandt painting analogy is absolutely right.  Classics (big C) from the Thirties are just like that, expensive high quality works of art custom made by craftsmen (artists, sort of?) for wealthy benefactors (customers). 

This is as opposed to high dollar musclecar speculators of the last few years.  I have always liked musclecars, and as a young enthusiast they were attainable to me so I had a lot of interest in them.  But my take on Classics is that they were the aristocrats of cars, beautiful, elite, and rare even then.  A Million Dollar Hemi Cuda rolled down the assembly line with 50 other E Body cars every hour, and the next one off was often a secretary car with a slant six.  Even a Mopar fan should admit these were cars of mediocre quality and usually cheap appointments.  I like them myself, but I can't concede that car is a work of art. 

I like your photo symbol, by the way, now THAT one is rolling art.

Hello again John, your mention of Chip Foose brings up a personal quandry I have on the subject.  I am something of a purist and do not like street rods because of (to me) the offenses they they have represented for so many old cars.  However, as a Classic car historian I cannot dispute that the street rod practice is not that much different than a wealthy car owner of the 1920s and 1930s buying a cowl & chassis and having a coachbuilder build a custom body for it.  It leaves me with a weak arguement to make.  

The style of new cars is a stickier question.  In any given era there is always a natural design similarity if for no other reason that (Chrysler Airflow) people are skeptical of buying anything too radically different.  This can be illustrated in the Forum where we try to ID old cars of the teens and 1920s with limited success.  You are right, of course, in what you say about the current crop of lookalike cars, and I also wonder what is the next move? 

My favorite cars are those from the 1950's when very bold styling changes occurred every year in one make or another, and I think the modern car business just cannot afford to be so daring.  I think sometimes about GM and Ford at that time and how far they have come from that marketing model.  The idea that Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, Buick and Cadillac would all produce their own chassis and engines and that Fisher Body would produce A, B, and C bodies, with 2-3 makes per body, new fenders and quarter panels for everyone every year and each a complete redesign every 3 years or sooner just boggles my mind.  The 1957 Pontiacs had 33 interior codes (approx 7 different styles, most with at least four colors each) and 23 paint colors, which were usually two toned.  The other GM makes had at least that many variations and they all changed every year!  Unbelievable!  I am currently driving a 2008 Dodge Avenger, available in 8 colors, with 3 interiors in 2 colors each.  Those paints are all used on other Dodges and the interior materials are too and they do not differ by much.  And this is better variety than most.  I would guess that 80% of all Avengers cover 4-5 colors (White, Silver, Blue, Gray and sometimes Maroon) and 2 interiors (Dark Slate Gray or Dark & Light Slate Gray 2 tone), and these are the same colors used on this car this year.  No wonder there is so little variety on the road today.  Of course even GM realized shortly after that it was all too much, but they sure made it work for a long time and it would add a little more excitement today.         

Regarding the Bugatti, wasn't there something said once about a fool & their money are soon parted?   It may be unique and technologically advanced for it's time, but there's certainly nothing      aesthetically pleasing about it, IMHO.  These are the people who ruin the hobby for the little people.

Bugatti's are significant automobiles... it would be nice to see the car preserved as is and driven on occasion.

Mr. Bugatti would smile...