Bugatti (5 Posts)
Last week I visited the new Peter Mullin Museum in Oxnard, California. The building is actually the same one previously used by Otis Chandler to house his vast collection of cars that ranged from Duesenbergs to Hemi 'Cudas.
The Mullin Museum houses a more focused collection of cars, mostly French automobiles from the 1920s through the 1940s. The star of the show, in my opinion, is the blood red 1939 Delahaye T165 pictured above.
A 1936 Bugatti Atlantic Type 57SC recently sold for "around" $30,000,000 (the exact amount was not disclosed) setting a record for the highest price ever paid for a car. The Atlantic -- one of only three ever built -- sold for a few mil or so higher than what a 1962 Ferrari GTO went for a few months ago. That GTO sold for $28,000,000 in a private sale. The Holy Grail Bugatti, which won Best of Show at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance back in 2003, was also a private sale. Furthermore, the Atlantic's price was nearly three times what was paid for a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa (yes, it was two separate words back then) last May at an auction held in Italy.
So who bought the Bug? No, it wasn't Leno but rather Peter Mullin, a collector who has a thing for the Art Deco-inspired, French-made cars of the 1930s. Mr. Mullin just opened the Mullin museum in Oxnard, California, showcasing dozens of those gorgeous cars. I had a chance to visit the museum recently and will highlight that in an upcoming DCC.
There are a lot of cool cars that rotate through our test lot here at Edmunds. For the most part, I get to get at least a little seat time in them before we have to give them back. There are a few that I haven't seen parked in our garage, nor have I had the opportunity to partake of outside of work. Here are my top three.
I don't have one topic worthy of a full Talk Back Tuesday post, but I do have a few mini topics from the past week that, when added up, almost equate to one worthy discussion...hopefully. Here goes:
In the spirit of "perfect timing" comes a new Hummer H2 book: Yes, just as oil passes $100-a-barrel and gas hits $4-a-gallon we get a new book that, according to the press release:
"With unfolded centerfold the book reaches a width of 237 cm (94.5 inches), wider than the subject of the book, the HUMMER H2, itself. HUMMER H2 - KING SIZE AMERICA! is the biggest and most exclusive car book in the world and is published in a limited edition of just 999 sequentially numbered and signed copies. On 200 gloss-laminated pages German automobile journalist Hans-Jürgen Tücherer tells a great many entertaining and amusing stories that surround this spectacular American SUV. More than 270 fascinating pictures up to 43 x 237 centimeters (17 x 94.5 inches) in size depict the HUMMER H2 in all its glorious details and from many highly unusual perspectives. HUMMER H2 - KING SIZE AMERICA! is available for 999 Euros. The German edition is on sale now. The English version will be available online at www.h2book.com starting in April 2008."
Yes, for a mere $1,500 you too can pay proper homage to your H2 with a book as obnoxious as the vehicle itself! Better reserve your copy today!!
Putnam Leasing, a company that specializes in providing exotic cars to exotic customers (at exotic prices) has picked their "Top Exotic Lease for 2006." The winner? Bugatti's 1001 horsepower 2006 Veyron, a car Putnam Leasing can put you in for a paltry $23,595 -- a month. Of course that price doesn't include taxes, and I'm thinking insurance on a $1.3 million dollar car is probably higher than an Accord or Explorer, even when you're just leasing it. But hey, if that millionaire Greg Olsen felt it was worth $20 million to hitch a ride on the Russian space program, there's got to be someone out there willing to shell out $300,000 a year to drive a vehicle capable of 255 mph...
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Recent Posts
Karl on Cars: The Peter Mullin Museum in Oxnard
June 22, 2010 3:00 AM
Dream Car Corner: Record for Biggest Bucks Car Set by Bugatti
May 27, 2010 11:00 AM
Weekly Top Three: Cars I Haven't Driven (and REALLY want to)
April 9, 2010 6:00 AM
Talk Back Tuesday: Hummer Book, World Car and CTR
March 25, 2008 6:00 AM
2006 Bugatti Veyron -- Yours for a Cool $23K a Month
July 12, 2006 8:08 AM
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