By almost any measure, the Type 57 series of luxury touring and sports cars was the final, truly great Bugatti from Molsheim. Spearheaded by Ettore Bugatti’s supremely talented 25-year-old son, Jean, with in-house designers Antoine Pichetto and Noel Domboy, it was one of Bugatti’s most commercially successful models. It was offered with several factory coachwork options: the four-door saloon “Galibier,” the two-door coach “Ventoux,” and the drophead coupe “Stelvio,” as well as a few more limited models including the Atalante and Aravis. The Type 57 chassis was also available to outside coachbuilders on the European Continent as well as in England.

Rolling chassis 57236, with engine no. 136, was delivered to England on December 7, 1934, along with its sister car, chassis 57235. It had been ordered by Colonel Sorel in London as a chassis for Wilson Griffith McConnell, who had seen a Type 57 two-door, four-seater cabriolet with coachwork by James Young of Bromley (chassis 57169) at the 1934 London Motor Show.

Colonel Sorel ordered McConnell a nearly identical cabriolet, with the only difference being the relocation of the spare tire from the front left fender to the trunk. A native Canadian, McConnell already owned another Bugatti, a lovely Figoni Type 44 touring car, chassis 44437. When The Bugatti Register and Data Book was compiled in 1962 by the late Hugh G. Conway, McConnell made the following comments: “The car has been looked after very carefully and never been in a garage outside the owner’s. The car is running as well as when bought, in fact the performance is better due to two modifications; a Scintilla Vertex and 1936 type inlet manifold.” He would go on to retain this Type 57 in Montreal, Canada, until his passing in 1966. The lovingly preserved, but slightly neglected drophead remained in the family until McConnell’s estate sold it in 1977.

Brian H. Pollock, then a resident of Vancouver, Canada, purchased the Bugatti and worked on and maintained the car until deciding to embark on a full-scale restoration. It was completed by Edwin Arnold in 1984, just in time to win its class at that year’s prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®. Beautifully preserved, but also actively used by Mr. Pollock and his family, the car was a frequent participant in concours as well as American Bugatti Club rallies on both East and West Coasts.

With Mr. Pollock’s passing in 2024, his 47-year custody of this graceful Type 57 James Young cabriolet has drawn to a close, offering a rare opportunity for the discerning collector to acquire not only a two-owner Bugatti from new, but also one of the handful of Bugattis to have come to North America when new and to have remained here ever since.