Abandoned car makes $4.4m in auction

A car abandoned in a garage for half a century sold at an auction in Paris for euro3.4 million (about $4.4 million) Friday.

The 1937 Bugatti Type 57S went under the hammer at Bonhams' Retromobile car show and sale in Paris. It was sold on behalf of the family of its last owner, Dr Harold Carr.

The orthopedic surgeon drove the car for several years, but in the early 1960s it was parked in his garage in Gosforth, near Newcastle in northern England, where it remained for forty years until his death in 2007.

Bugatti once represented the height of motoring achievement. The supercar was so ahead of its time it could go up to 130 mph (209 kph) when most other cars topped out about 50 mph (80 kph).

This particular car is especially valuable because it was originally owned by Earl Howe, a prominent British race car driver, and because its original equipment is intact, so it can restored without relying on replacement parts.
Bonham's said a European collector bought the car.