1938 Bugatti Type 57 news, pictures, and information

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Atalante Coupe
Coachwork: Gangloff
Chassis Num: 57633-463
Engine Num: 463

This Bugatti was originally ordered by wealthy French Industrialist Fernand Crouzet and has a custom body by Gangloff that features unique bumpers and wheel discs.

During World War II, this Type 57 was hidden under hay in a barn in France. After the war, the car was refurbished by the Bugatti branch in Paris and was sent to England where it was used as a French Embassy car until 1948.

The car is powered by an in-line 3257 cc (3.3L) eight-cylinder engine coupled to a 4-speed manual transmission. The 3,415 pound vehicle was stopped by hydraulic brakes. The supercharged model had a top speed of 112 miles per hour. The car has been in private collections since the late 1940s.

This car was offered for sale at the 2006 Gooding & Company Auction held in Pebble Beach, Ca. It was estimated to sell for $650,000-$850,000 and was offered without reserve. All the benefits of this sale were to go to the Ministrelli Women's Heart Center at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan.

This car has had a 100-point restoration in 2005. The interior is finished in an Ostrich patter, wool broadcloth headliner and French Walnut instrument panel. It has a correct Scintilla ignition switch, Scintilla coils and Bosch distributor.

At auction, the car was sold for $682,000.

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Drophead
Designer: Letourneur et Marchand
Chassis Num: 57567
Engine Num: 57567

1938 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet by Letourneur & Marchand

This pre-war Bugatti was acquired by its current owner in 2003 who promptly returned its original engine to its chassis, No. 57567. Its Letourneur & Marchand coachwork was a precursor to the famed 'Aravis' Bugattis they built along with Gangloff.

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Ventoux Coupe

The Bugatti Type 57 was both beautiful and powerful and provided cash-flow for the Bugatti Company during a difficult economical time in history. It was introduced in 1934 and quickly grew a reputation for low noise and vibration from the engine. The engine is a 3.3-liter engine capable of producing 135 horsepower. There were four-bodystyles offered and their names were in honor of the Alps mountain peaks, the Galibier, Stelvio and Ventoux. The Ventoux body style had seating for four and two doors. Its design, such as raked windshield, was borrowed heavily from the Type 50. All of the Ventoux bodystyles were created in-house, by Jean Bugatti. Most of the Stelvio bodystyles were outsourced to custom coachbuilders.

A second series was introduced in 1936 and featured a redesigned chassis which accommodated a more flexible engine mounting system.

The 1938 Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux Coupe with seating for four was on display at the 2007 Eastern Concours of the United States.

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Drophead
Designer: Letourneur et Marchand
Chassis Num: 57649
Engine Num: 466

This 1938 Bugatti Type 57 Three Position Drophead Coupe has coachwork by Letourneur & Marchand. It carries chassis number 57649 and engine number 466. It is finished in blue owner white with a tan leather interior. Under the bonnet is a straight-eight engine with twin overhead camshafts, sixteen valves and coil ignition. Total horsepower is around 140 which is sent to the rear wheels with the help of the four-speed manual gearbox. Drum brakes can be found on all four corners.

The alternative to the factory bodies were created by coachbuilders such as Graber, Corsica, Saoutchik, Labourdette, and Letourneur et Marchand. The versatile chassis lent itself well to the elegant and unique creations created by these master craftsman.

One of the earliest creations by Letourneur was in 1926 when they bodied a Voisin car. Their designs during the 1930s is among the most memorable of their creations, with many designs featuring aerodynamic principles and fitted to some of the sportiest French automobiles of the era. Many of the designs were penned by Letourneur's son Marcel.

In total, Letourneur created seven Aravis bodies for the Type 57 and eleven other bodies for the Type 57. The very first Aravis, shown at the 1938 Paris Salon, was created by Letourneur.

This Three Position Drophead Coupe has many similarities to the Aravis design. It has a finned boot lid, twin opening handles and hinges, no running boards, same wing lines and roof line, and the spare wheel is hidden in the trunk. The rear wheels are covered and the fenders have a teardrop style.

This car spent its early life in Europe and brought to the United States after the Second World War. It has an older restoration but still in very good condition. The interior and paint are some of the more visual signs of the age of the restoration. It was even a recent exhibit in New York City at the Allan B. Stone gallery.

At auction the car was estimated to sell for $600,000 - $800,000. This was the last vehicle to cross the auction block and sadly failed to find an interested buyer willing to meet its reserve. The car was left unsold.

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Atalante Coupe
Coachwork: Gangloff

This supercharged Bugatti Type 57C Atalante has been referred to as 'the greatest barn-find ever,' and its story is certainly remarkable. John W. Straus, the grandson of the founder of Macy's department stores, parked this Bugatti in a Pound Ridge, New York, barn in 1962, and there it stayed until earlier in 2007. Mr. Nicotra placed the winning bid at an auction in June and immediately sent the car to his friend and preservation car expert Mark Smith, who confirmed the car's absolute integrity. After tending to a very few leaks and adding new oil, the engine was hand-cranked and sprang to life after 45 years. The only items that have been replaced, for safety's sake, are the tires. A truly unique Bugatti.

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Cabriolet
Coachwork: D'Ieteren

The coachbuilding firm of D'Ieteren was founded in 1805 by Jean Joseph D'Ieteren, who started his career as a wheel-wright. Thus D'Ieteren, which is located in Brussels and still exists today, is one of the oldest automoitve firms in the world. From 1897 to 1935 the firm built something like 6,000 high quality coachworks on chassis from Hispano Suiza, Minevera, Mercedes-Benz and Bugatti. It counted Dutch and Belgian royalty amongst its clients. Sadly just 30 to 40 of those magnificent cars have survived. This is the only Type 57 Aravis Known to have been bodied by Albert D'Ietern. It was delivered on March 9, 1938, to its first owner, a Mr. Baggage.

Many manufacturers during this time produced multi-purpose vehicles that could be driven to a race track, raced, and then driven home. The Bugatti Type 57, however, was solely a road-going vehicle and is considered the most celebrated of all non-racing Bugattis. Even though the Type 57 was strictly a road-going vehicle, a racing version was created for the 1937 24-Hours of Le Mans race. This vehicle, based on the Type 57S chassis and named the 57G, won the race. A supercharged version was created for the 1939 Le Mans race and also was victorious. This is the legacy of the Bugatti heritage and the quality and innovative designs that were truly masterpieces in all respects.

In 1934, the Type 57C entered the scene, a project headed by Jean Bugatti, the son of Ettore Bugatti. The vehicle centered around refinement while focusing on the values that had made Bugatti successful.

Three 'factory' bodies were available and consisted of the Ventoux, a two-window and four window version, the Stelvio, and the Atalante. All of the Atalante bodies were produced and all were done in-house. The Atalante was named after peaks in the Alps and is one of the most exclusive bodystyles ever produced by Bugatti.

The Type 57 could also be ordered with Galibier four-door bodies. Ealier versions of the Galibier bodies had suicide-opening front doors with no pillar. Later versions had suicide-opening front doors and rear doors hung in the traditional fashion. The front and rear doors would share a common pillar.

Jean designed an indepenent front suspension to aide in the handling of the vehicle. This was not popular with Ettore Bugatti and had the traditional Bugatti front axle installed.

A 3.3 liter, twin-cam, straight-eight engine was used to power this vehicle. Even with the heavy saloon bodies, the engine could propel the vehicle to a speed of around 95 mph. A Roots-type supercharger was later added and the vehicle was given the designation 57C. The supercharger was quiet and provided between three to four pounds of boost pressure. The addition of the supercharger increased the horsepower rating to 175.

The Type 57S version was a 'sportier' version of the Type 57. The chassis was shorter, with the rear axle running through the frame. A slightly tuned engine with higher compression and a dry sump lubrication helped increase the performance of the car. The front and rear axles received de Ram shock aborbers, replacing the Hartford Friction dampers.

The Type 57SC was a combination of the 57C and 57S. The engine produced between 200 and 220 horsepower.

On August 11, 1939 while testing a Type 57C tank-bodied racer near Molsheim, Jean Bugatti was killed. This was the same day as the start of the 2nd World War, which inevitably meant that the race Jean was preparing the vehicle for would never be run.

Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti was born in Milan, Italy in 1881. His father, Carlo, was a furniture designer of some fame. The father's brother, Rembrandt, was a gifted sculptor of animals. When he was old enough, Ettore attended the Brera Academy of Art where he studied sculpture. Soon, he turned his attention to mechanical endeavors.

The first Bugatti motor car was built in 1899 though the first vehicle to bear his name was the Type 13 of 1910. Power came from a four-cylinder, eight-valve engine. The 1913 the radiators became more rounded and in the shape of a horse shoe.

The company's first eight-cylinder engine production car was introduced in 1922 and dubbed the Type 30. The engine had a single overhead camshaft and displaced two liters. The car had a drum brakes, solid axles and leaf springs on all four corners.

The Type 35 in all sequences, the A, B, C, and T, were some of Bugatti's early examples that made the marque famous. The Type 57 introduced in 1934 and continued in production until 1940. They were powered by a 3257cc straight-eight engine with double overhead camshafts that produced between 130 and 140 horsepower. There were four road-going versions of the 57 and these were the Type 57, Type 57C, Type 57S, and Type 57SC. The Type 57C was a supercharged version while the Type 57S was a sporty version based on a short and lower wheelbase. The Type 57SC was a combination of the 57S and 57C. A variety of body-styles were offered throughout the years.

The engine rested in a ladder-type frame and matted to a four-speed manual gearbox. The front had a tubular axle with the suspension comprised of longitudinally mounted semi-elliptic leaf springs. The rear axle was suspended in place by a pair of quarter-elliptic leaf springs. The early versions of the vehicle had cable-operated drums on all four wheels. Later versions were upgraded with Lockheed hydraulic brakes with twin master cylinder, which first appeared in 1938.

The Type 57 and its variants were intended for road going use. However, many made their way onto the racing circuit. Lord Howe drove a Type 57 to a third place finish in the 1935 Tourist Trophy. A Type 57G won the Monthlhery and Reims race in 1936. In 1937, Jean-Pierre Wimille and Robert Benoist drove a Bugatti to victory at LeMans.

Many of the cars were clothed by prominent coachbuilders such as Figoni, Van Vooren, Corsica, and James Young. Most of the chassis were bodied by the factory with coachwork in the style of Jean Buggatti. The catalog bodies included two versions of the Ventoux Coupe, the Galibier four-door sedan, the Stelvio cabriolet, Atalante, and Atlantic. The Atlantic and Atalante were constructed in two-door coupe configuration. Gangloff, a Swiss coachbuilder, was tasked with clothing most of the factory bodies.

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