
The youngest and most versatile of the family, the “little” Rosso Umbria is inspired by the 1930 Bugatti Type 46 Cabriolet—Mrs. Mullin’s personal choice. Best paired with simply-prepared red meat, pasta with ragout and roasted poultry, this red blend is full bodied with an intense flavor and smooth tannins. It carries aromas and flavors of wild black currant with overtones of black pepper and spices.
*Price is all inclusive of shipping costs, import duty, taxes & currency fluctuation DISCOVER: BUGATTI TYPE 46BUGATTI TYPE 46
BUGATTI TYPE 46
Cabriolet 1930
MRS. MULLIN’S CHOICE
A general purpose car in a line known as a producer of motor cars built for speed—the Bugatti Type 46 was developed as a touring car in response to the 1929 stock market crash.
By 1930 the Depression had spread to Europe, and Bugatti saw the opportunity for a new “realistic” grand touring model that was essentially a scaled-down version of the expensive Type 41 Royale from 1927. The Type 46 bridged the gap between the Royale and the three-liter Type 44 from 1929.
The Type 46 is one of the few Bugatti examples in the Mullin collection that was not bodied by the Bugatti factory. The body was designed by French coachbuilder De Villars Courbevoie, who styled the Type 46 as a convertible coupé with a rumble seat. Upon acquiring the car, the Mullins restored it in traditional coachbuilding fashion, carefully choosing colors and fabrics that suited their tastes. Merle Mullin chose the orange, yellow, and black color scheme, and outfitted the interior with a woven deerskin fabric that matched the pattern of a favorite Bottega Veneta handbag. When the car made its debut at the 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Mrs. Mullin accompanied it cloaked in matching orange and carrying the Bottega Veneta bag.
The Type 46 was produced from 1929 through 1933 and was available as a cabriolet, sedan, limousine, or coupé. World War II took its toll on this model: many were converted to trucks during the war, and a number of them were scrapped after the war because they required too much gas. Also, because many European countries heavily taxed luxury cars during the postwar period, they were even more expensive to own. Only sixty of nearly five hundred Type 46s are known to have survived.