Completed Bugatti Type 64 Coupe to make debut at Quail Motorsports Gathering

Wed, 08 Aug 2012

If you're one of the Autoblog faithful you might remember our story on the Bugatti Type 64 Coupe chassis on display at the Mullin Automotive Museum, one of just three built by the French carmaker before the death of Jean Bugatti. At the time, we told you the museum had plans to finalize the construction of the car with custom coachwork – only one example received bodywork from the factory – and now that time has finally come to unveil the finished product. Today it was announced that a "virtually completed" car will make its debut later this month at the Quail Motorsports Gathering in Monterey.

"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."

We'll have live photos of the completed Bugatti Type 64 Coupe as part of our extensive Monterey coverage next week. Want to see the car in person for yourself? The museum says it will have also have the car on display at their facility in Oxnard, CA later this year.

Scroll down below to read the official announcement from the Mullin Museum.

Oxnard, Calif. – The Mullin Automotive Museum, a Southern California institution devoted to the preservation of French art and automobiles from the Art Deco era, today announced it will unveil the virtually completed coachbuild of Jean Bugatti's famed 1939 Bugatti Type 64 Coupe Chassis #64002 at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering on August 17.

First designed in 1939 by revered designer and engineer Jean Bugatti (1909-1939), Chassis #64002 was never finished due to Bugatti's tragic death during the road test of a Bugatti Type 57. After years of extensive research, planning and coachwork build, August 17 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 Quail, A Motorsports Gathering will have the opportunity to view this remarkable piece of automotive history at the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, Calif. this Fall, among the Museum's magnificent collection of prewar coachbuilt automobiles. For further information on the 1939 Bugatti Type 64 Coupe Chassis #64002, please log onto www.mullinautomotivemuseum.com.

By Drew Phillips