If the Rolls-Royce radiator represents the summit of English aristocratic engineering, the Bugatti horseshoe is something altogether more volatile — a shape that evokes Grand Prix starting grids, the hairpins of Monaco, and the long straight at Le Mans. Ruddspeed's decision to model a decanter on it was an act of perfect judgment.
Ettore Bugatti, born in Milan in 1881 and working from his atelier at Molsheim in the Alsace, produced automobiles that were simultaneously the most beautiful and the most successful racing machines of their era. The Type 35, introduced in 1924, would go on to win over two thousand races, and the horseshoe radiator that fronted every Bugatti of the period became one of the most recognizable silhouettes in the history of the automobile. It remains so today.
This decanter by Ruddspeed Ltd. of Worthing captures that silhouette with remarkable fidelity. The body is cast in heavy chromium-plated metal, its characteristic horseshoe arch rising to a knurled chrome screw cap that serves as the stopper for the glass liner within. The front face carries a black perforated mesh grille framed by a polished chrome surround, with the red oval enamel Bugatti badge — bearing the double-B monogram — positioned at the crown of the arch precisely as it appeared on the automobiles themselves. The reverse backing plate, in black, incorporates the characteristic vertical slot through which the level of liquid in the glass liner can be gauged, the feature that distinguishes every genuine Ruddspeed from the copies that followed. The piece is stamped RUDDSPEED LTD (ENGLAND), Registered Design No. 910435 on the reverse.
Ruddspeed was the creation of Ken Rudd, a competition driver who in 1953 was invited by Donald Healey to understudy for him at Le Mans. The firm went on to build a distinguished reputation as performance car specialists — converting Austin-Healeys, Volvos, and Ford Mustangs, and counting Ian Fleming among their clientele. The radiator decanters, sold through Harrods of London and select garages and sporting goods retailers across the United Kingdom, were a sideline that became, in the intervening six decades, considerably more collectible than many of the cars that inspired them.
Condition: Chromium finish very good with light age-consistent wear. Black enamel grille and chrome surround intact. Red enamel Bugatti badge present and sound. Glass liner present. Backing plate original with level window intact.
Material: Chromium-plated metal, black perforated enamel mesh, glass liner, enamel badge Maker: Ruddspeed Ltd., Worthing, England Registration: Reg. Design No. 910435 Period: circa 1960
If the Rolls-Royce radiator represents the summit of English aristocratic engineering, the Bugatti horseshoe is something altogether more volatile — a shape that evokes Grand Prix starting grids, the hairpins of Monaco, and the long straight at Le Mans. Ruddspeed's decision to model a decanter on it was an act of perfect judgment.
Ettore Bugatti, born in Milan in 1881 and working from his atelier at Molsheim in the Alsace, produced automobiles that were simultaneously the most beautiful and the most successful racing machines of their era. The Type 35, introduced in 1924, would go on to win over two thousand races, and the horseshoe radiator that fronted every Bugatti of the period became one of the most recognizable silhouettes in the history of the automobile. It remains so today.
This decanter by Ruddspeed Ltd. of Worthing captures that silhouette with remarkable fidelity. The body is cast in heavy chromium-plated metal, its characteristic horseshoe arch rising to a knurled chrome screw cap that serves as the stopper for the glass liner within. The front face carries a black perforated mesh grille framed by a polished chrome surround, with the red oval enamel Bugatti badge — bearing the double-B monogram — positioned at the crown of the arch precisely as it appeared on the automobiles themselves. The reverse backing plate, in black, incorporates the characteristic vertical slot through which the level of liquid in the glass liner can be gauged, the feature that distinguishes every genuine Ruddspeed from the copies that followed. The piece is stamped RUDDSPEED LTD (ENGLAND), Registered Design No. 910435 on the reverse.
Ruddspeed was the creation of Ken Rudd, a competition driver who in 1953 was invited by Donald Healey to understudy for him at Le Mans. The firm went on to build a distinguished reputation as performance car specialists — converting Austin-Healeys, Volvos, and Ford Mustangs, and counting Ian Fleming among their clientele. The radiator decanters, sold through Harrods of London and select garages and sporting goods retailers across the United Kingdom, were a sideline that became, in the intervening six decades, considerably more collectible than many of the cars that inspired them.
Condition: Chromium finish very good with light age-consistent wear. Black enamel grille and chrome surround intact. Red enamel Bugatti badge present and sound. Glass liner present. Backing plate original with level window intact.
Material: Chromium-plated metal, black perforated enamel mesh, glass liner, enamel badge Maker: Ruddspeed Ltd., Worthing, England Registration: Reg. Design No. 910435 Period: circa 1960
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