A 1929 Bugatti Type 40 Grand Sport, chassis 40801, crossed the block at Gooding Christie's Amelia Island sale as part of the New Woodstock Collection, carrying pre-auction hopes of $350,000 to $450,000. Instead, as Racecar records, the car, which had spent more than 60 years in the hands of a single owner, the late Robert J. Chevako of New York, sold for just $240,800, roughly a third below its low estimate, as noted by Gooding Christie’s. Here's the story behind chassis 40801, and how a car with such rare, storied provenance still fell short at auction. Built in May 1929 and originally bought new through Dache Pilot & Cie of Valence in France, the car later passed through the hands of a French Bugatti dealer and two American owners before Chevako acquired it in 1964, largely off the radar ever since.
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