Bugatti Type 38A Supercharged inline-eight with unique French coach build Sports body.

This stunning Bugatti Type 38A is truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing: the ultra-rare supercharged Type 38A inline-eight engine clothed in a beautiful and unique French coach build sports body. Just 39 examples of the Supercharged Type 38 variant were produced.

With the help of Bugatti expert Pierre-Yves Laugier, the history and origins of this fabulous Type 38A can be traced back to 1933 when a 1926 Type 35 was converted at the Molsheim Works to Type 51A Grand Prix specification. The car was then raced extensively between 1933-1937 by Madame Anne Itier participating in several GP races and hill climbs.

After the Second World War, the Type 51A Grand Prix was adapted for road use with a supercharged Type 38A inline-eight engine of 2.0 Liter capacity, a gearbox of Italian make better suited for road use and the unique French coach build sports body still on the car today.

A French registration document from 1951 describes the car as “Type 38, Chassis 38239, Torpedo 2-seater”, the chassis number originating from the French registration number 9288 AR 75.

In 1957 the car was sold to Erik Nielsen, a Dane living in Paris at the time. Mr. Nielsen enjoyed the Bugatti in France and Denmark until the early 1960s when the car was sold to Sweden. The Type 38A stayed with one family in Sweden before returning to Denmark again in 1996. Photographs showing the Bugatti in Paris, Denmark and Sweden in period accompany the car.

By chance, the new owner in Denmark managed to find the remains of an original Type 51A engine, parts of an original GP body and many other parts but not a GP chassis. He decided to use the Type 51 GP chassis from this car to build a complete Type 51 GP.

In turn, he sourced a new European chassis fabricated to Grand Prix specification to which the 38A engine and the unique French Sports bodywork and all other original parts were fitted, including the original rear axle and an original radiator.

The entire car including the engine was fully rebuild in England in the late 2010s with Ivan Dutton rebuilding the engine and driveline and Keith Pointing doing the final assembly. The T38A engine was converted to five main bearings and as such is much stronger than the original T38A layout using only three main bearings.

Hence this is the unique Type 38A as it is today, using as many original Molsheim parts as possible and as build in the 1940s except for the Grand Prix chassis and a correct hollow GP front axle supplied by Ivan Dutton. The supercharger housing is an original item but is now fitted with new internals for reliability. A European GP gearbox will be included and can be fitted prior to a sale further to agreement.

This is a genuine, one-off Bugatti with documented history, a ton of power and an exhaust note of true racing pedigree, all beautifully wrapped in the unique French tear-drop shaped coachwork.

The Bugatti Type 38A has always been well maintained and is on the button. It last participated in the 2026 International Bugatti Meeting and has previously been exhibited at Retro Mobile Paris as well as Salon Privé, Goodwood Revival and Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK as well as participating in a host of Bugatti events and previous International Bugatti Meetings.

Registered with historic license plates on current Danish (EU) registration documents.

We are located in Copenhagen, Denmark with easy access to view all cars in stock.

Please email or phone ahead to arrange a viewing.

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