3 barnfind Bugatti have finally been pried loose from the long term imprisonment of their owner, who couldn't afford to drive them or insure them, so he locked them up. A 1932 type 49 Berline, 1937 Type 57 Cabriolet and a 1929 Type 40

Above, the barn where these had been stored for around 20 years, blocking the door is a can that had been parked there for 15 years, and blocking that car from being moved are a ton of sand bags 

Above, is the demonstration car with Vanvooren bodywork from the 1932 Paris Salon Show Car , put in a barn with the wheels removed so the Germans wouldn't steal it in 1939, it's been sitting in storage for 60 of it's 90 years

A Belgian sculptor purchased the three vehicles in the late 1950s and early 1960s when they were practically worthless, he kept them running and used them as daily drivers for years and became such a fan of the brand that he sculpted a bust of the automaker’s founder, Ettore Bugatti, which today resides at the National Automobile Museum in Mulhouse, France.

The cars will be crossing the block on Feb. 8 at the Retromobile event in Paris, where they should sell for well over $1 million combined. The all-original Type 57 is expected to fetch as much as $750,000 on its own.

 this chassis was one of the cars awarded to the winner of the "Third Bugatti Grand Prix", June 1, 1930 on the circuit of Le Mans. In the previous race of 1929, the awards are a first prize worth 165,000 francs or a car of an equivalent amount a Type 35, a second prize of 60 000 francs or a Type 44, and a third prize of 36 000 francs or a Type 40, or a gift card of 1000 francs to be used in Bugatti repair shops. This car was the third prize of the GP of 1930, but refused by its winner, Miss Hellé Nice, and put back for sale by the Bugatti factory.

His parents allowed him to leave high school at the age of 15 and let him join the famous Autoschool  in Den Bosch. That's when WW2 began. His older brother was a leader of the resistance. One night, as he helps people cross the border, he is spotted by the Germans.

 After a painful interrogation, he is deported to a labor camp in Germany where bombs are made by the prisoners. In order to not collaborate, he deliberately cuts a finger. One evening, he decides to flee in a spectacular escape where he clung under the chassis of the train that crosses the camp.

In prison clothes, young August travels through Hitler's Germany hopping the trains. He finally reached the Netherlands alive, thanks to a silent German train driver. After a night spent in a coffin at the cemetery, he went to his uncle's, who let him hide in their villa in Eijsden. During this period, he developed his second passion: sculpture. The resistance led him to intervene in the RAF in England until the end of the war.

After the war, he made a motorcycle from spare parts and traveled to Spain for 5 months. He studied for three months at the Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid and the Prado where he found his life's purpose: the search for human beauty through sculpture.

These Bugatti will be auctioned next month, Feb 8th



https://www.foxnews.com/auto/million-dollar-car-collection-hidden-for-years-uncovered-in-poor-artists-barn
https://www.artcurial.com/en/node/1113536
https://www.classicandsportscar.com/news/breathtaking-bugatti-trio-rescued-belgian-barn