Filed in archive Concours by Philip Powell on August 27, 2006

The 1932 Bucciali that appeared at this year's Pebble Beach Concours has certainly attracted the attention of our audience. I knew nothing about the car, mistakenly suggested it must be Italian, and in the blog offered a tongue-in-cheek award for more information. Thanks to our knowledgeable viewers I can now tell you that Buccialis are not Italian, having been constructed in France between the mid-20's and mid-30's under the direction of two brothers, Angelo and Paul Albert Bucciali, who claimed to have made 36 cars of various specifications. The Pebble Beach car is a 1932 Bucciali TAV 12 and is actually powered by a 12-cylinder Voison sleeve valve engine, which you see here. Interestingly, Voisin was one of two featured French marques at the Concours, the other being Delahaye.

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WW2 Secret Behind Delahaye Concours Car Revealed - 03 February 2007

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Permalink: Bucciali Mystery Solved

Tags: Pebble Beach concours Bucciali Voisin Delahaye V12 engine French classic vintage antique collector

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Response from: Montague (08/27/07 2:34pm)

Your comment about Bugatti was not as far-fetched as it seemed - here's what one source says about this particular Buc/ex-Bug. - Starring at the 1932 Paris Auto Show, the front-wheel drive, twelve-cylinder, sleeve-valve engined Bucciali stunned show-goers. Cloacked in one-off coachwork by Saoutchik, the car received acclaim as the most advanced and modern French automobile.

The Bucciali sold originally to a Paris banker, who drove it for three years. The coachwork was then removed and fitted to a Type 47 Bugatti chassis. The Bugatti fitted with the Bucciali's coachwork was sold and brought stateside after World War II. The original chassis remained behind in France.

In the 1970s, the Bucciali body was reunited with the original chassis, which was purchased from a French collector. With the assistance of Paul Albert Bucciali, the car was restored to the original, spectacular state that it is today.