1936 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante

It's been a long time since I talked about cars. It's true that with the summer, I go out more in Montreal to photograph Street Art and then share it with you. But I keep looking at the websites of auction houses specializing in classic car sales such as RM Sotheby's, Bonhams, Gooding & Company... Most of the models presented are beyond my means (about 99.99% 😀) but it feels good to dream and look at the car design during its golden age (in the 60s and 70s). Today, we will go even further back in time by going to the interwar period with this Bugatti Type 57S Atalante produced in 1936

I know less about this period in automotive history but the design of this Bugatti caught my eye. And what better way to learn more about this model (Type 57S Atalante) than to write an post about it? This stunning 1936 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante will be offered for sale next weekend (September 9) during the RM Sotheby's auction in St. Moritz, Switzerland with a starting price of over 10 million US$*. I told you it was much higher than my Hive wallet 😀.

History of Bugatti Type 57S Atalante

The Bugatti Type 57 was designed by Jean Bugatti, the son of the founder Ettore Bugatti, his first solo project. The Type 57S with Aérolithe coachwork was presented at the London Motor Show in 1935 :

Bugatti_Aérolithe_AR.jpg

Bugatti Aérolithe, inspired by Science Fiction and the Art Deco movement.

One year later, during the 1936 Paris Auto Salon, Jean Bugatti presented another version of Type 57S with a new design : a low-profile chassis lower and more compact of the previous model. The 'S' stands for surbaissé (lowered) . On the 48 examples produced, only 17 were bodied with the Atalante two-door coupe style (named after Atalanta in the Greek mythology). The 31 others are named Atlantics.

This model (chassis 57384) was the first Atalante to leave the Molsheim factory, located in France in Alsace, it's the home of the Bugatti family, the birthplace of the brand. It was bought by Marcel-Louis Bertrand in 1936 in Toulon in order to compete in races. Six month later, with Claire Descollas behind the wheel, the car participated in its firt race, 9th Concours International de Tourisme Automobile Fémenin Paris-Vichy-St Raphaël (the only rally for women in these years). You can see a picture at the end of the post.

110th anniversary of Bugatti in Molsheim in 2019

But because of the Second World War, the car was hidden under a pile of wood and remained so during the whole war. When peace returned, the car started again in the first attempt only after putting a new battery 😮. In the 50's the car was sold to an American and returned in Europe in 1971 bought by Michel Poberejsky aka Mike Sparken, a successful French car racer (1930-2012). The car was fully restored and his motor was uprated to 200 horsepower with the supercharged "SC" specification. Since, the car has participated to many historic gathering all around the world with the Prix du Design in 2003 at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Always so cool to dive into car history with exceptional models like this Bugatti.

Specification

The Bugatti Type 57S Atalante is powered by supercharged 3.3-litre dual overhead cam straight-eight engine. During the restoration, the moter was upgraded to the supercharged version with 200 hp more.

Beautiful design penned by Jean Bugatti with these aerodynamic lines that create a stunning silhouette. However, the interior is rather spartan with these seats. This shows that the car was designed to participate in races. The wooden dashboard is a pure marvel especially with this huge steering wheel. I wonder what kind of feeling you get behind that steering wheel. Would you like to take a ride in this car?

Sale


What :	1936 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante
Where :	RM Sotheby's St Moritz
When :	9 September 2022
How :	CHF 10,000,000 ($US 10,500,000 / € 9,000,000)