Original Bugatti’s are still to be found.

Last Sunday a diving team lifted the wreckage of a Bugatti Brescia from the depths of Lago Maggiore near Ascona in Switzerland.

For seventy years it had slumbered at a depth of more than fifty metres. Isn’t it amazing how these things survive?

How the Bugatti Brescia found its way into the Lake Maggiore is not completely clear.

According to current knowledge, explains Heinz Müller, spokesman of the foundation, a Swiss dealer had ordered three Bugattis.

These cars were brought to Switzerland, but only two of the buyers paid the import duties.

The third car, with duties unpaid, apparently was buried in the lake by customs officials and over time slid deeper and deeper into the lake.

Deeply covered in sludge, the car partially resisted corrosion. Even the tires were still filled with air. After the car was recovered and sat in the sun, a tire blew with a loud bang.

The car will now undergo a full restoration and will be auctioned off to benefit the Damiano Tamagni Foundation, which works to prevent youth violence.