Bugatti found at bottom of lake after 70 years could fetch £80,000 in auction

It my look like a rust-bucket. But despite spending 70 years at the bottom of a lake, this one could fetch £80,000. For it is a rare 1925 touring Bugatti.

The car was pushed into Lake Maggiore by a frustrated tax official in 1936 after the owner abandoned it in Switzerland without paying the appropriate import tax.

It was re-discovered by a diver, Ugo Pillon, in 1967 over 160ft below the surface and was brought back up to the surface in last July by the club to raise money for a charity tackling juvenile violence.

It's believed that 20 per cent of the vehicle is salvageable and collectors and museums are said to be keen to buy it.

James Knight, from Bonhams auction house, said: "Sometimes we get cars that have been hidden in barns for years, but never have we had one that's spent 70 years at the bottom of a lake."

All money raised will go towards the Damiano Tamagni Foundation which is based in the town.
The sale is on January 23 at the Bonhams Retromobile sale in France.

The 1925 touring Type 22 Bugatti was built in Brescia in Italy. A small brass plate found on the car bears the name 'George Nielly, 48 Rue Nollet, Paris'. It was registered in his name in 1930.