Bugatti Type 57
The Bugatti Type 57 and later variants was an entirely new design created by Jean Bugatti, son of founder Ettore. Type 57s were built from 1934 through 1940, with a total of 710 examples produced.
Type 57s used a twin-cam 3,257 cc engine based on that of the Type 49 but heavily modified by Jean Bugatti, unlike the single cam engines of the Type 49 and earlier models. The engines of the Type 50, 51 used bevel gears at the front of the engine to transmit power from the crankshaft, whereas the Type 57 used a train of spur gears at the rear of the engine, with fiber gear wheels on the camshafts to achieve more silence in operation.
There were two basic variants of the Type 57 car:
- [|The original Type 57]
- [|The lowered Type 57S/SC]
Type 57
The original Type 57 was a touring car model produced from 1934 through 1940. It used the 3.3 L engine from the Type 59 Grand Prix cars, producing 135 hp. Top speed was.It rode on a wheelbase and had a wide track. Road-going versions weighed about. Hydraulic brakes replaced the cable-operated units in 1938, a modification Ettore Bugatti hotly contested. 630 examples were produced.
The original road-going Type 57 included a smaller version of the Royale's square-bottom horseshoe grille. The sides of the engine compartment were covered with thermostatically-controlled shutters. It was a tall car, contrary to the tastes of the time.
Dimensions:
- Wheelbase:
- Track:
- Weight:
Type 57T
Type 57C
A Type 57C racing car was built from 1937 through 1940, with about 96 produced. It shared the 3.3 L engine from the road-going Type 57 but produced 160 hp with a Roots-type supercharger fitted.Type 57C Tank
The 2nd incarnation Tank, this time based on the Type 57C, won Le Mans again in 1939. Shortly afterwards, Jean Bugatti took the winning car for a test on the Molsheim-Strasbourg road. Swerving to avoid a drunken bicyclist on the closed road, Bugatti crashed the car and died at age 30.Type 57S/SC
The Type 57S/SC variants are some of the most iconic Bugatti cars. The "S" stood for "Surbaissé" and the "C" for "Compresseur". It included a V-shaped dip at the bottom of the radiator and mesh grilles on either side of the engine compartment.Lowering the car was a major undertaking. The rear axle now passed through the rear frame rather than riding under it, and a dry-sump lubrication system was required to fit the engine under the new low hood. The 57S had a nearly-independent suspension in front, though Ettore despised that notion.
Just 43 "Surbaissé" cars and only two supercharged Type 57SC's were originally manufactured. But most 57S owners wanted the additional power afforded by the blower. Therefore, most of the original Type 57S cars returned to Molsheim for the installation of a supercharger, pushing output from 175 hp to 200 hp and.
Dimensions:
- Wheelbase:
- Track:
- Weight:
Type 57S/SC "Aérolithe" concept and Atlantic production cars
However, the production Atlantics, just four built, used plain aluminum, but the dorsal seams were retained for style and have led to the car's present fame. The model was named in honor of Jean Bugatti's friend, French pilot Jean Mermoz, one of the pioneers in aviation and the first to cross the South Atlantic by air. Unfortunately, in December 1936, he and his crew crashed into the Atlantic Ocean after a supposed engine failure. Originally, the Atlantic model was named "Coupé Aero" after its predecessor, the Type 57 Aérolithe. The first two production units already bore that name, but after hearing the tragic news, Jean Bugatti commissioned to change the name of the model to "Atlantic Coupé".
Three of the original four Atlantics are known to survive and each had been restored to its former glory. Two of them have been honored with "Best of Show" awards at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 1990 and 2003, respectively.
● 1935 Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe No. 57331 prototype
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Code-named the "Elektron Coupé" or "Competition Coupé" at launch, this Bugatti prototype had a very short existence. It was finished around July 1935 and only four months later, it made its first public appearance at the Paris Motor Show. The car was a faithful recreation of Jean Bugatti's stunning "SuperProfile coupé" design, but due to its seemingly bizarre shape, the vehicle has brought attention to a very limited audience, thus there were only four Atlantics built the years after. A few people, however, had the chance to sit in the vehicle next to Bugatti race driver William Grover-Williams while he offered them a "quick" tour of Paris and were surprised by the vehicle's performance and looks, so they called it "La Aérolithe" after the phrase "Rapide comme une aérolithe", a name that was later adopted by Bugatti.
A few weeks later, the vehicle was displayed at the British International Motor Show in Olympia, London. The prototype remained in London until the spring of 1936, being frequently driven and tested by William Grover-Williams. Beyond this point, historians lose its tracks, but as Bugatti's chief mechanic Robert Aumaître stated a few decades later, the car was, essentially, just a styling concept with no technical interest, thus being transported back to France at the Bugatti factory where it was disassembled for components.
Over the span of five years, from 2008 to 2013, Canadian car restoration team from The Guild of Automotive Restorers, led by David Grainger, had built a 1:1 exact replica of the Type 57 Aérolithe, having only 11 photographs, 2 blueprints and a painting at their disposal from which they gathered all the dimensions of the vehicle. It was built on the No. 57104 chassis and its body was crafted entirely out of Elektron alloy.
● 1936 Bugatti Type 57S Coupé Aero No. 57374
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It was completed on 2 September 1936 and sold to Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild. Painted a metallic gray-blue, No. 57374 was supposedly built using various components from the Aérolithe prototype, the most notable being the chromed elements on either side of the engine grille. In 1939, at the request of Victor Rothschild, the car was brought back to Molsheim in order to have the "C" specification supercharger fitted. Lord Rothschild used the car until October 1941, when he abandoned it in the middle of a field after the engine exploded due to the malfunctioning supercharger that was fitted two years before.
It was then sold to a mechanic, whom repaired it, thus removing the defective supercharger. In 1945, a wealthy american doctor whom just arrived in England bought the car and a year later, he brought it to the US and sold it to Bugatti enthusiast Mike Oliver. In the hands of that owner, No. 57374 received the US regulations changes and was painted a dark red. In 1953, Oliver decided that the car should have the "C" specification refitted. As a result, No. 57374 was brought back to France at the Bugatti workshop to make this change and, once completed, was returned to the US.
Oliver died in 1970 at the age of 50. Before his death, he sold it to Briggs Cunningham, american entrepreneur and pilot, owner of the "Costa Mesa" car collection. Just a year later, it was sold for a total of $59,000 to collector Peter Williamson. He was the owner of that car for 32 years, during which time he returned it to its original state. Eventually, it was exhibited at the 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where it won the "Best of Show" award.
Peter Williamson died a year later and No. 57374 remained in his family's possession until 2010, when it was sold for no less than $30 million to collector Peter W. Mullin, who then exhibited it in his automotive masterpiece collection at the Mullin Automotive Museum located in Oxnard, CA.
● 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Coupé Aero No. 57453
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Also known as "La Voiture Noire", this is the second Atlantic that was manufactured. Apart from its first years after production, the car's history remains mostly unknown.
On 10 March 1936, Greek racing driver Nico E. Embiricos ordered a Bugatti Type 57S Coupé Aero bearing chassis No. 57375 and engine No. 3S, which was completed on 24 August 1936 and then shipped to his residence in London. By some unclear reason, once received, the car was sent to Corsica Coachworks for the conversion to a two-seater convertible racing body, this process coming to an end on 4 September 1936. The Coupé Aero bodywork was sent back to the Bugatti workshop, where it was eventually mounted on chassis No. 57453 with engine No. 2SC.
Being the only Atlantic already fitted with the "C" specification supercharger straight from the factory, No. 57453 was completed on 3 October 1936. During the winter of the same year, the car was mostly driven by Jean Bugatti, racing driver William Grover-Williams and his wife, Yvonne. Subsequently, No. 57453 was photographed for the company's 1937 promotional catalogue and was also exhibited at the Nice and Lyon Motor Shows in the spring of 1937.
Brought back to Molsheim, it was proudly driven by Jean Bugatti until the end of July, when he offered it as a gift to Bugatti race driver Robert Benoist after winning the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Being a very close friend with the Grover-Williamses, Benoist used the car alongside them. Some sources claim that Benoist even broke a few speed records using the car at the Montlhéry Autodrome in 1938. In the spring of 1940, all three of them fled to England before the Germans took over France and the car was returned to the factory. Even though it was frequently driven, No. 57453 never had a registered owner. The last mention about it was on a list of cars that were to be sent to Rue Alfred Daney in Bordeaux on 18 February 1941, during the French exodus, being registered 1244W5 and bearing chassis No. 57454. Due to its past and exclusivity, experts had estimated the value of this car at around $114 million.
Jean Bugatti, whom unfortunately died at the young age of 30 in a car crash, often considered the Atlantic model and most notably No. 57453, as his most innovative and most valuable creation. Thus, at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, commemorating the 110-year anniversary of both Jean Bugatti and the brand, Bugatti introduced the one-off model "La Voiture Noire". It was sold to an anonymous buyer for $19 million and declared the most expensive new car ever sold. According to the Bugatti stylistic team, the vehicle identifies itself as the ultimate Grand Tourer, but also as a modern representation of No. 57453 and a tribute to Jean Bugatti's stylistic genius.
in 2010
● 1936 Bugatti Type 57S Atlantic Coupé No. 57473
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Succeeding No. 57453, this second black Atlantic was finished on 13 December 1936 and was delivered to its first owner, Mr. Jacques Holzschuch. A few months later, while driving along the French Riviera, he and his wife, Yvonne, entered the "Juan-Les-Pins Concours d'Elegance" event, where the vehicle received the "Grand Prix d'Honneur" award. Subsequently, in 1939, the car received significant styling changes, so No. 57473 differs from the other Atlantics. The author of this coachwork is believed to be Italian designer Giuseppe Figoni.
Eventually, Mr. Holzschuch and his wife were killed by the end of World War II, and the car was purchased alongside their Monaco mansion by Cannes businessman and mechanic Robert Verkerke in 1949. In the hands of this owner, the car entered the "3rd International Speed Circuit for touring cars series" race in Nice, but it didn't finish. Over the next couple of years, No. 57473 had more than three additional owners. In 1952, it was sold to Bugatti enthusiast René Chatard and was later painted pale blue.
On 22 August 1955, Chatard and Janine Vacheron, a female companion, were driving the car near Gien, France, when they were hit by a train. Neither survived the crash, and the vehicle was sold to a scrap trader in Gien. The remains of the car were purchased in 1963 by a French collector who began a full reconstruction, which culminated in 1977. As a result of the severe deterioration, most of the original components were replaced with new ones, therefore the value of the car decreased substantially.
In November 2006, No. 57473 was bought by an anonymous collector, who decided that the vehicle should be thoroughly restored by American specialist Paul Russell and brought back to Chatard's specification. In 2010, the finished car was exhibited at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance event, where it didn't win any prize, being considered a replica. Today, No. 57473 is one among other classic cars displayed at the Torrota private collection in Spain.
collection
● 1938 Bugatti Type 57S Atlantic Coupé No. 57591
This final production Atlantic led a charmed life that continues to this day. Its first owner was British tennis player Richard B. Pope and it was delivered to him on 2 May 1938 before being registered "EXK6", as it's commonly referred to. Painted a rich sapphire blue, No. 57591 distinguished itself from the other Atlantics mostly by the "facelift" at the front end and the absence of the rear fender covers.
In 1939, Richard Pope sends the car back to Molsheim at the Bugatti factory to have the "C" specification fitted. He kept the car for nearly 30 years, sometimes loaning his Atlantic to Bugatti specialist Barrie Price. Eventually, Price bought the car in 1967 and had it in its possession for 10 years. In the meantime, No. 57591 suffered a light crash during a commemoration which led to it getting stuck in a ditch. The car was handed to wealthy businessman Anthony Bamford and, shortly after, was given to another collector.
Eventually, renowned fashion designer Ralph Lauren buys the car in 1988, who then commissions a complete restoration with Paul Russell and Co. They were able to cut through the past restoration work and revive the car back to its 1938 glory, even though it was painted black at Mr. Lauren's request. The car was given the "Best of Show" award at Pebble Beach in 1990 and "Best of Show" at Villa d'Este in 2013, along with many other top awards.
Type 57S/SC Atalante
The Atalante was a two-door coupé body style similar to and built after the Atlantic, both built on the 57S chassis, but with a single-piece windscreen and no fin. The name "Atalante" was derived from a heroine of Greek mythology, Atalanta. Only 17 Atalante cars were made, four of which reside in the Cité de l'Automobile Museum in Mulhouse, France.One Atalante, chassis number 57784, a 3-seater vehicle version with aluminium bodywork made by Vanvooren of the iconic Bugatti Type 57S model, resides in the Museu do Caramulo in Caramulo, Portugal. Vanvooren would do two more bodies alike, one for the French government, who gave it, in 1939, as a marriage gift for Prince Reza and Princess Fawzia, and another one. These two cars are in private collections in the United States.