Classics on the Block: 1936 Bugatti Type 57C Coupe and Hans Stuck's Auto Union Racer

PEBBLE BEACH, California — August will be an even more exciting month for classic-car fans than usual, as two masterpieces go on the block in California. Bonhams & Butterfields' Quail Lodge event will feature the 1939 Auto Union D-Type racing car driven by Hans Stuck. Meanwhile, Gooding & Co. will auction off a 1936 Bugatti Type 57C Coupe built as a birthday gift for Ettore Bugatti himself.

Gooding & Company calls the Type 57C "the quintessential Bugattti road car," historically important because it was assembled as a birthday gift for "Le Patron," protected during World War II and stored at Bugatti's Molsheim, France, headquarters after Bugatti's death in 1947, where it was given upgrades over the years. The car received a unique engine and transmission, technical improvements and interior appointments not shared with other Bugattis. The coachwork design is also believed to be one of son Jean Bugatti's final designs. Gooding notes that the car has never been restored and has been used "only sparingly." The car, in a classy green-and-black two-tone paint job, is offered at no reserve. Auction days are August 12-16.

The Hans Stuck racing car is the only "proven" surviving Grand Prix car of its type, according to the auction house. It has a rear-mounted twin-stage supercharged 3.0-liter V12 engine, classified at 486 horsepower in 1939, and has been "absolutely confirmed" as chassis number 19. It participated in several significant Grand Prix races during the last prewar racing season. Its last race was at Reims-Gueux, France, with Stuck at the wheel, who finished 6th.

The surviving Auto Union team cars were taken to the Soviet Union after World War II, where they were used for research. A tenacious American antique-car enthusiast, Paul Karassik, located surviving components, including the number-19 chassis, and had the car restored by Crosthwaite & Gardiner in England. It is expected to sell at $8 million-plus at the auction on August 14.

Inside Line says: Great spectating — and dreaming — for 1930s classic-car fans. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent