Valve Bounce

Bugatti Brescia lifted from the depths of Lago Maggiore

This makes finding a Bugatti in your garden shed seem quite normal.

In the late 1920s three Bugattis were imported into Switzerland but only two of the new owners could pay the import taxes. The third got dumped into Lake Maggiore in 1937 when the tax man caught up with the owner. It’s a T22 Brescia Modifiee (chassis no. 2461) and it has been in 50m of water for over 70 years. The car was discovered in 1967 by divers in the lake and has been know by Bugatti enthusiasts all that time. It was rescued on the 12th July 2009 by a volunteer effort organised by Jens Börlin and his company Rescue Sub Ascona. The plan is to sell the car to help fund a  the fight against youth violence on the part of the Damiano Tamagni Foundation.

What would you do with it if you bought it? An interesting museum piece? Or will we see it running again. I'd bet on the latter, there seems to be an irresistible urge to bring things like this back to life.

See the latest instalment of the 'Bugatti in a lake story' here

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2009

Some great stuff there this year;

• An incredible collection of cars again
• The Cartier Style et Luxe especially the Bugatti Type 57s and the The Hispano-Suiza H6C Xenia
• An interesting Bonhams auction
• Peter Fonda on his Easy Rider bike
• The Hot Rods
• The Silver Arrows
• The Red Arrows
• The 917s
• The Paddocks
• F1 dough-nuts
• The rally stage
• The noise
• The smell of Castrol R
• The drive down there over the downs

But there's no pleasing some people - here's some dislikes;

• Corporate motor trade stands
• The corporate Grandstands
• I’m sure it’s a great day out if you’re on some hospitality deal
• The walk from the public car park
• The cars in the public car park (why euro-boxes one and all?)
• The price of everything (it’s ridiculous)
• Too few interesting trade stands
• Too many modern cars. The ‘Super-cars’ are very boring
• There are too many people (!)
• Is the fabled atmosphere really that great if you’re not a driver or on some hospitality deal?
• You can’t see anything unless you’re in a grandstand
• Getting out the car park

It’s a fantastic event but overall I think I’d rather be at Le Mans Classic.

This tickled my fancy; two Aurelia B20 GTs in the auction one very rat-look and the other very shiny. Both seem to have failed to sell according to Bonhams.

Turnstudio

What a great idea this is from Turnstudio near the Ace Cafe in North London. Doesn't everyone want to put their car on a pedestal and film it?

£30 all in if you mention Classic and Sports Car magazine when you call them.

Classics in the Walled Garden 2009

This is the first year this event has been held and it was rather special. On a glorious July evening around 350 cars gathered inside the walled garden at Loton Hoo Estate. It was organised by Peter Madden of Classic on The Common fame so everything was immaculate. A great selection of cars and a very relaxed atmosphere.

Complete with a bar, hog roast, and brass band it was a memorable evening. Where else could you see a rat look Austin A35 next to a Ford Anglia next to a Type 43 Bugatti next to a 4 1/2 litre Bentley?

Now looking forward to this years Classic on the Common on the 29th July.

This is a view of the walled garden from Google. Quite an impressive space for a vegetable patch, maybe it's just visible from space.

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