Back from the dead in Bradford

[meteorite]

Since the early days of Ontario, Bradford has been a sleepy little farm town, mainly servicing the farmers of Holland Marsh, on Yonge Street (Hwy. 11) not that far north of Toronto. But for a number of years now, a quiet little business in the town has been building a massive reputation in the classic car field. It calls itself the Guild of Automotive Restorers. But it's more.

In 1935 one of the sensational displays at the massively prestigious annual London Auto Show was a luscious light green coupe shown by the master builder Ettore Bugatti, which he called the Aerolithe. One or two established Bugatti owners were allowed to take brief test drives in the car; then the show closed and the car vanished without trace. Well, a few blueprints and 13 photos have surfaced since, but that is all.

Except - something over four years ago an unidentified Bugatti fanatic decided he wanted to own the car and, the original having vanished without trace, commissioned the Guild to recreate it. The project is now near completion.

The story is too long and detailed, and the photo slideshow too elaborate, for us to copy it here. But the full report can be found at http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120629/CARNEWS01/120629799?utm_source=DailyDrive20120629&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_term=article2more&utm_content=20120629-A-lost-Bugatti-rises&utm_campaign=awdailydrive and for those who love those highly styled French coupes of the Art Deco era, it is must reading and highly recommended.