The Mullin Automotive Museum will unveil the virtually completed coachbuild of Jean Bugatti’s 1939 Bugatti Type 64 Coupe Chassis #64002 on Friday, August 17th at the 2012 Quail Motorsports Gathering.
First designed in 1939 by designer and engineer Jean Bugatti (1909-1939), chassis #64002 was never finished due to Bugatti’s death during the road test of a Bugatti Type 57. After years of extensive research, planning and coachwork build, August 17th will mark the first time in history Jean Bugatti’s final chassis will wear a streamlined, handcrafted body, a vision left unfulfilled for 73 years.
Created in collaboration with the Mullin Automotive Museum, Stewart Reed Design and Automobile Metal Shaping Company, the new body will pay homage to Jean Bugatti’s original concept. The hand-formed body, crafted using many of the same coachbuilding techniques employed in 1939, will feature numerous original styling cues including, iconic papillion doors and an intricate riveted body structure.
“We’ve dedicated much of our efforts at the Museum to honor the Bugatti family and the marque, but never have we done something of this scale,” said Peter Mullin, Chairman of the Mullin Automotive Museum. “I cannot imagine a greater token of respect to the Bugatti family than to help finish Jean Bugatti’s beloved final masterpiece.”
Those unable to attend the 2012 Quail Motorsports Gathering will have the opportunity to view the Bugatti Type 64 Coupe at the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California this fall, among the Museum’s collection of pre-war coachbuilt automobiles. For more information, visit www.mullinautomotivemuseum.com.
[Source: Mullin Automotive Museum]
