1937 Bugatti Type 57S news, pictures, and information

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Atalante

The Type 57S was a short-wheelbase sport version of Bugatti's twin-camshaft, straight-eight, 3.3-liter Type 57 model, and featured a 'V' radiator. Only 43 examples were built between 1936 and 1938, and this one was the last of 17 to be fitted with factory built black Atalante coupe coachwork. It was completed on February 28,1 938, and delivered to England the following month for its first owner, Dr. J.R. Scott of Surbiton, in whose name it was registered EXK 5 on April 6, 1938. It passed through the hands of several British owners until it was added to the Seydoux Collection in Paris in 1986. After returning to England, it was exported to the United States in 1993, where it was painted in its current yellow and black livery, and was acquired last year (2005) by its current owner. The Type 57S has been called the ultimate road-going Bugatti. It is also one of the rarest.

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Atalante
Coachwork: Gangloff
Chassis Num: 57532
Engine Num: 27S
Vin Num: 3612

The production run of the Bugatti Type 57S was brief, as manufacturing costs were excessively high. It shared many of the features of the Type 57 and its differences set it in a league apart. It had a modified crank case with dual oil pumps and dry sump lubrication. High compression pistons gave the new engine a significant performance edge and the clutch was reinforced to cope with the extra output. Ignition was by a Scintilla Vertex magneto driven from the left-hand camshaft. The Type 57S had a new low-slung frame on a short wheelbase, the rear axle passing through the frame, while de Ram shock absorbers provided damping cleverly engineered to increase with speed. In the front was a vee-shaped radiator with no less than 46 vertical slats.

This car, chassis number 57532, was tested at the factory in April 1937 and registered on April 28th of that year. It was sent to Gangloff for the coachwork to be fitted. It was given black livery with tan pigskin upholstery. The car was built for Dr. André (‘Charles') Chauvenet who had it for several years. When he suffered an illness in 1938, the car was laid-up, emerging from storage in April 1939 with just 15,000 or so kilometers recorded. The next owner was Dr. Dinoire who intended on transforming it into a race car. The plan was to shorten the chassis, fit a supercharger and update the braking system to Lockheed hydraulics. The coachwork was removed and carefully stored during the war years, however the racing car project was never proceeded with and the coachwork was subsequently refitted to the chassis in the garage of M. Arnaud at Niort.

In February of 1943, ownership changed to E. Mouche of Paris. In January of 1948, it was in the ownership of celebrity Danish/French singer, songwriter and composer, Georges Ulmer. During one of his trips to the United States, his pregnant wife sold the car, as her doctor advised that it was not a good car for her back.

Raymond Dupont became the owner of the car in December of 1951. It was acquired by St. Quentin brewer, Henri Berlaimont, in March 1952. While in Berlaimont's possession, the car was overhauled by Bugatti specialist Hermanns in Asnieres at the Garage du Pur Sang.

The car was sold in the summer of 1953 to Robert Ford who toured Europe extensively in the car and kept it until his death in 1982. Ownership later passed to Michel Seydoux who commissioned a restoration for the car. It later joined the collection of Swede Hans Tulin before acquisition by the present long term owner in the early 1990s.

In 2009, this car was offered for sale by Bonhams at the Exceptional Motorcars and Automobilia at the Quail Lodge Resort in Carmel, Ca.

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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