A severe obsessive compulsive who never married or had children, the former surgeon grew increasingly reclusive in his later years. The letters were discovered only when the property was cleared out.
His nephew, an engineer from Gosforth, Newcastle, who asked to remain anonymous, said that while the family knew that the appropriately named Dr Carr had a number of vehicles, none of his relatives had any idea that they were worth such huge sums. “We just can't believe it,” he said. “It's amazing, really. It's worth so much because he hasn't used it for 50 years. People must have known because he got letters from all over the country. He got notes pushed through his door. People travelled to try and convince him to sell the car.”
The Bugatti, a black two-seater, was delivered to Earl Howe, the first president of the British Racing Drivers' Club and a winner of the 24 Hour Le Mans race, soon after it was completed on May 5, 1937. He kept the car for eight years, adding personal touches including a luggage rack, after which it changed hands a couple of times before Dr Carr bought it from Lord Ridley, a member of the Northumberland gentry, in 1955.
He drove the car for a few years but by the early 1960s it was parked in his garage, where it remained until after his death. It has exceptional originality, retaining original chassis, engine and drivetrain. Even the odometer reading gives a mileage of only 26,284, despite the vehicle being almost 72 years old.
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