Rayney's Special

Sir,
I was a close friend of the late Colin Rayney, and read with interest your story about his Bugatti Type 35A (Motor Sport, May 1989).

I was with Colin when he bought LXV 332 for £200 in Slough in 1950. The car had belonged to an RAF officer who had stored it in 1938. He had gone missing during the war, but his mother had left the car untouched and when we removed the grease we found it was beautifully preserved. The officer had owned the car since 1936. There was no mention of Malcolm Campbell as a previous owner, but the log-book may have been a duplicate.

To take advantage of the £10 road tax, Colin re-registered the Bugatti as a Rayney Special. He sold it in 1954, as you describe but with the original Type 35A engine (which we believed to be a two-litre). Presumably a later owner blew up this engine. If the present owner would like more detail, I should be very pleased to help.

John F Dudmesh, Cublington, Bedfordshire