The Four Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic

I just wanted to create this post dedicated to the history of the four most precious cars in the world.

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Elegance, sportiness, luxury and rarity: these four attributes perfectly describe Bugatti cars. Yet there is one model that embodies this vision of the automobile more than any other: the Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic. This coupe is truly legendary: it may even be the brand's greatest legend. Only four examples of this extraordinary model were built between 1936 and 1938. Three of them have survived to this day and are now considered the most precious cars in the world. As for the fourth, car enthusiasts from all over the world have been looking for it for more than 80 years.

"The Atlantic is one of the many icons that have marked Bugatti's rich history. At the time, the elegance, quality and power of this coupé made it a unique model in the world, which it still is today. For us, this luxury supersport car is as much a source of inspiration as it is a model to follow," says Stephan Winkelmann, President of Bugatti. "With our current hypersports, Chiron, Chiron Sport and Divo, we intend to continue this tradition, in the spirit of the Bugatti style. »

In 1930, Jean Bugatti, son of Ettore Bugatti, began to modernize the luxury brand's product strategy. Rather than making several models, he decides to create a basic model from which different variants will be derived. That's how Jean Bugatti conceived the Type 57, a car designed both as a production model and a race car: in short, the ultimate Grand Touring car. Several engine and body variants will be introduced, such as the Galibier (four-door sedan), Stelvio (convertible), Ventoux (two-door) and Atalante (coupé). Between 1934 and 1940, the year the model's production ended, some 800 copies of the various versions of Type 57 left the brand's workshops. The exact number of copies produced is still unknown to this day, but one thing is certain: the Type 57 remains the most produced model in Bugatti's history.

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The Atlantic models are developed from the Aerolite concept, also known as the Special Coupé or Aero Coupé. To design the bodywork for this unique model (chassis number 57 104), Jean Bugatti uses elektron, an alloy of magnesium and aluminium from the aeronautics industry. Elektron consists of 90% magnesium and 10% aluminum. Lightweight and durable, it is nevertheless difficult to use because it cannot be welded. That's why Jean Bugatti riveted the body panels with the famous ridge. The Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic is named after Jean Bugatti's friend Jean Mermoz. Legendary pilot of the Aéropostale, he was the first to cross the South Atlantic by plane before disappearing during a final crossing in 1936.

The doors of the Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic are cut out over the roof to make it easier to get down and up in this compact coupe. On the first two models, the headlights are housed in the wings; on the last two, they are housed in separate housings. However, each model is unique and differs from the others by different details. "The Type 57 SC Atlantic is a true design manifesto by Jean Bugatti. At the time, the extraordinary proportions of this masterpiece were absolutely unique. Nowadays, the elegance of this exceptional design continues to exert the same fascination," says Achim Anscheidt, Design Director at Bugatti. Over the years, Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic has won numerous awards in international vintage car elegance competitions such as the one in Pebble Beach, California. "The famous riveted aluminium seam that runs through the roof is still a unique and elegant design feature today," adds Achim Anscheidt.

Under the hood, the coupé is equipped with an eight-cylinder in-line 3.3-litre engine that stands out both for its precise mechanics and its power of around 200 hp, which allows the Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic to reach a top speed of over 200 km/h, at a time when horse-drawn carriages are still circulating on some roads. "At Bugatti, innovation and progress have always been the key words: form follows performance. We still respect this tradition today," says Stephan Winkelmann.

Only three copies of the Atlantic model, which was handmade, were sold to customers.

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L'Atlantic Rothschild

The 1936 57374 chassis was the very first Atlantic, ordered by London banker Rothschild. And it was not until 1939 that the grey and blue copy received its supercharger. After the war, the car left for Los Angeles, where its new owner Bob Oliver had the rear windows modified and repainted several times. In 1971, Peter Williamson bought it for $59,000. He had it restored to its original 1936 state, then sold it to Peter Mullin and Rob Walton for... $36 million. In 2003, the car was crowned "Best of Show" at the Pebble Beach Elegance Competition, and it also won the Chantilly Competition in 2017. Currently, it can be admired in the USA, at the Mullin Automotive Museum.

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The third copy manufactured by Bugatti, number 57 473, was delivered to the Frenchman Jacques Holzschuh in October of the same year. The second owner of the coupé, a collector, found himself trapped on a level crossing with his Atlantic: he died in the accident and the car was completely destroyed. Several decades later, it was completely restored, although the engine was lost in the accident.

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L'Atlantic Pope

The last Atlantic was born in 1938. The chassis 57591 registered EXK 6 had been ordered by the British Richard Pope. He kept the car for 30 years, before selling it to the author Barry Price, who in turn sold it in 1988 to the famous Ralph Lauren. He had the car restored by specialist Paul Russel. This Atlantic in turn collected the trophies, including Best Of Show titles at Pebble Beach in 1990, and Villa d'Este in 2013. It is difficult, if not impossible, to estimate the fair value of a car like this. But 40 million euros seems to be a minimum.

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La voiture noire

The 57453 chassis is known as the "black car", and was Jean Bugatti's personal car. It disappeared from circulation in 1938. Rumour has it that Bugatti had her transported to Bordeaux to avoid falling into the hands of German troops, but that she was nevertheless "captured" in 1941 by the Nazis, who dismantled her. Anyway, the car never showed up again.
Unlike the other models, no one knows what happened to the coupé after 1938. Jean Bugatti may have sold it to a pilot of his friends, or, more likely, sent it to a safer area when German troops entered Alsace. One thing is certain: the second Atlantic was never found. His death remains one of the greatest mysteries in the history of the automobile. According to experts, if it were to resurface, its value would exceed 100 million euros.

We need to find that car...

 

the chassis number for the Coupe Aerolithe was 57331

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Oh, yes, I'm sorry, my fault.

 

Le dompteur Jean Bugatti au volant (57453 la voiture noire)

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Fantastic shoot, it gives me a mystic feeling...

Humm I m curious to know who did this perfect shoot, perfect for a white wall!

 

Où avez-vous trouvé cette photo ? / Where did you find this picture?

 

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Facebook

 

Another picture of #57453 :

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57473
Madame Holtzschuch at the Concours d'Elegance de Juan les Pins 1937

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What a photo! Mystic indeed. I've got goosebumps!

 

57473
Jeanine Vacheron with the Bugatti not long before the tragic accident

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Another picture of #57453

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#57453 dans le catalogue Bugatti 1938 page 23 :

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Greetings to all,
The popular theory about the existance of the 4th Atlantic, prior to the beginning of WW2, usually ends with the quote that the car was loaded up onto a rescue train to Bordeuax and then dissapeared in 1941...
To anyone that is a bit familiar with the WW2 timeline in France, that is very suspicious, as the city of Bordeuax, where the Bugatti company was headed for safety, got occupied by the Nazis actually in the spring of 1940... So this wouldn't make sense or what ?
If the Nazis had already access to the storage in the 1940., why would the car exist still in the document, dated officially from February 1941...
What could be really interesting is an obscure factory document from 1939. that I've attached a picture of.
It's the extract of one of the pages from the book by the well known Bugatti historians B.Simon and J.Kruta - Bugatti 57s.
It seems that car recorded in it was meant for a customer from Brussels - Gabriel Duhoux, a belgian architect and enterpreneur, the known owner of 57.562 Atalante. The vehicle in question had the same registration and chassis numbers as the Atlantic in 1939 (the second picture)...
Well, the only thing which I wasn't able to find out is who was the actuall customer of the "Belg Coupe", as Simon/Kruta have put Duhoux's name under the question mark...
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So what are the chances this car is still out there waiting to be discovered. It would be the barn find to end all barn finds that's for sure..

 

http://motofiction.eu/

 

It would be quite a deal, yes. Although its location has been unknown for 80 years or so, so every chance of finding it is very slim...
I guess we will have to wait what might come with the time, during this new decade.

 

This is a very interesting research indeed.
I'm curious what will appear next as I'm quite familiar with the person that was quoted by the end of the post (myself actually ).
I was doing an independent research, until I came in contact with the editor of the mentioned site and decided to share some of my beliefs and findings.

 

Please do share. I find this era of bugatti to be fascinating..

 

Unfortunately everything I know so far is written in this post from 4. December...
I've tried to find out if anyone knows something more about this "Belg Coupe" and its possible customer but had managed to find myself, in the meantime, that it might have been indeed the mentioned Gabriel Duhoux, the Brussels architect.
This site, the link of which is provided above, motofiction.eu is currently the best source of informations for this hypothesis.
May I also suggest this book Bugatti 57 Sport, by authors B.Simon and J.Kruta, the pdf document of which is available on this site; https://www.book2look.com/book/FnfAzhPYxt
I'm not sure how to post links, I hope it's working.

 

new vid
This is a re-body. Bugatti engine and chassis, buuut ...... it's a beautiful car. ..... and it's Jay Leno, soooo.....



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Replica.....so none of the four original Type 57 S Atlantic

 

left hand drive ?

 

Another replica - Molsheim 2023.

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