CLASSIC BUGATTI MAKES 3.4m EUROS !

A classic Bugatti car, which gathered dust in a Tyneside garage for half a century, has been sold for 3.4m euros (£3m) at an auction in Paris.

Bonhams had listed lot 17403 as a "motoring icon" with an engine that has not been fired up for 50 years.

Relatives of reclusive Newcastle doctor Harold Carr found the 1937 Type 57S Atalante in a garage after he died.

It was originally owned by Earl Howe - first president of the British Racing Drivers' Club. Just 17 were built.

Bonhams tempted bidders by writing in its sales description: "The new owner will have the pleasure of firing up [engine] 26S and hearing that turbine-like sound that so excited Earl Howe when he collected this car from Sorel in 1937.

The 1937 Bugatti gathered dust in a garage for 47 years. Pic Bonhams

"Once again [chassis] 57502, a true supercar with impeccable credentials, emerges to take its place on the world stage."

Earl Howe took delivery of the sporty two-seat Atalante after it was completed in 1937 and kept the car for eight years.

After Earl Howe sold it, it changed hands a couple of times before Dr Carr bought the car in 1955 from Lord Ridley, a member of the Northumberland gentry.

Dr Carr drove it until 1960 when he parked it in his garage - to be discovered after he died in 2007.

The car has a remarkably low mileage with an odometer reading of just 26,284. It eventually sold for 3,417,500 euros (£2,989,495).

The Bugatti 57S is a highly coveted car by collectors, with at least four thought to belong to the Musee Nationale de L'Automobile in Mulhouse, France.

Others remain in the hands of private collectors.
BBC NEWS REPORT.