In 1924 the immortal racing Bugatti Type 35 appeared at the French GP in Lyons, arguably one of the prettiest cars of all time. By 1934 the last of the two-seater pointed tail racing Bugattis were introduced in 3.3-litre ‘Type 59’ form. Perhaps only seven were made, attaining a fair degree of success, until the might of Mercedes and Auto Union appeared. Prices dropped to a low in the 1950s but by the early 1960s GP Bugattis were beginning to find a new market as interest in historic cars grew and prices rose. At this point replica cars were also becoming popular, and so a modern Bugatti look-alike was an obvious choice to re-create, using modern engines, bodywork, chassis and running gear.

In the present ownership since 1998, this is one of the better replicas, from TEAL or Thistledown Engineering Automotive Ltd. Representing the pinnacle of their range and emulating the Type 59, the bodywork is constructed in aluminium using modern materials, and power is provided by Jaguar’s 4.2-litre double-overhead camshaft XK engine with four-speed manual gearbox. With little more than a 4.2-litre engine on four wheels, this car must be one of the more exciting cars on the road today! In deep navy blue with dark red leather and chrome wire wheels, this is a truly inexpensive replica of a great car, and comes with Swansea V5 and road licence.