The final Bugatti built at the original Molsheim factory is now for sale in the United States, and its story is as remarkable as the car itself.
The 1965 Bugatti Type 101C-X, based on chassis 101506, is one of just seven Type 101 chassis ever produced.
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It left the factory with an optional supercharged straight-eight engine, boosting output from 133 hp to 197 hp.
That alone makes it a standout, but its extraordinary bodywork sets it apart even further.
A Postwar Rebuild and a Designer's Vision
The Type 101 was Bugatti's attempt to rebuild after World War II, based largely on the prewar Type 57.
But sales never took off, and the final chassis sat without bodywork at Molsheim until 1961.
American collector E. Allen Henderson bought the bare chassis, and later his friend, publisher L.
Scott Bailey, saw an opportunity. He enlisted famed Chrysler designer Virgil Exner to create a modern revival.
Exner, fresh from his influential Chrysler years and already imagining revivals of marques like Duesenberg, jumped at the chance.
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The chassis was shortened, the seating reworked, and the design sent to Carrozzeria Ghia in Italy.
Ghia transformed the forgotten chassis into a dramatic roadster, unveiled at the 1965 Turin Auto Salon.
The car features a proud horseshoe grille, rectangular headlights, a split windshield, and a tail reminiscent of the Corvette.
Although Exner hoped the car might spark renewed production, that never happened.
Instead, it passed through several notable collectors before joining General William Lyon's collection for over four decades.
Along the way, it appeared at Pebble Beach and reunited with other surviving Type 101s in France.
Now offered by Hyman Ltd. in Missouri, this largely unrestored one-off is almost completely original.
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It represents the last chapter in Bugatti's first volume, and its price tag is expected to be in the millions—though still less than half the cost of a new Bugatti Tourbillon.
