1938 Bugatti Type 57C Roadster

The Type 57C is recognized as being the most sporting of all non-racing Bugattis. The T57/57C was an entirely new design heavily influenced by Jean Bugatti, son of founder Ettore. Between 1934 and the outbreak of World War II, more than 680 examples were produced in various body styles. The vehicle delivered all-around refinement while focusing on the engineering values that had made Bugatti successful.

Chassis #57661 was delivered in May 1938 with a Stelvio cabriolet body by Lacroix. The car was refitted with this unique Volla Ruhrbeck 'Waterfall' body, which has now been retrofitted to chassis 57819.

This car was restored in 2010, with engine 25C by Highmountain Classics and fitted with a reproduction roadster body built by Autoclassic Tourance (Tours France) to the design that Jean Bugatti and Gangloff completed in December of 1935.

The road-going Bugatti Type 57 successfully combined style and performance, earning it favor with the company's discerning and elite clientele. Introduced in 1934, it was the first new model built under the direction of Jean Bugatti, son of company founder Ettore Bugatti. With minimal influence from his father, Jean demonstrated maturity as an engineer and designer, skillfully introducing many advanced features, engineering prowess, and beautiful coachwork to the Type 57.

Much of the model's success can be attributed to the elegant and graceful coachwork penned by Jean Bugatti, complementing the vehicle's mechanical specification and vying with the best of France's and Europe's formidable coachbuilders' creations. The bulk of Type 57 production wore factory coachwork in Atalante two-seat coupé, Ventoux four-seat coupé, Stelvio cabriolet and the Galibier sedan configuration.

Endowed with many new mechanical features to Bugatti, its dual overhead camshaft eight-cylinder engine had a 72mm bore, a 100mm stroke, and a total displacement size of 3,257cc. The crankshaft ran in five main bearings, and the camshafts were driven by a train of helical-tooth gears at the engine's rear with a crankshaft bearing behind them. Side thrust on the valve stems was minimized by the use of finger cam followers.

The transmission was fixed to the engine crankcase, another Bugatti 'first,' and used a single plate clutch with the top three gears in the four-speed unit were constant mesh. The independent front suspension designed by Jean used transverse leaf springs for the first two examples of the Type 57 before Ettore insisted it be replaced by a popular Bugatti hollow tubular live axle. From that point forward, the suspension was traditional Bugatti semi-elliptical front and reversed quarter-elliptical rear leaf springs with cable-operated mechanical drum brakes.

As production of the Type 57 continued, its development was ongoing, with improvements introduced along the way. It gained a stiffened frame and rubber-mounted engine along with the supercharged 160hp Type 57C in 1936. In 1938, Lockheed hydraulically actuated brakes were finally adopted, and the lightweight but expensive aluminum-spoked wheels and brake drums were replaced with Rudge-Whitworth center-lock wire wheels and separate brake drums.

From its debut in 1934 and the outbreak of World War II, it is believed that more than 680 examples of the Type 57 (and its variants) were produced.

This particular Bugatti was ordered in April 1938 and delivered in September to a client through the Bugatti agent Crequy. It was given Gangloff Stelvio Cabriolet coachwork and was priced at 86,000 French Francs. At some point in the car's history, it was involved in an accident and subsequently burnt beyond repairs. What was left (the front of the chassis and the engine) was purchased in Paris in the 1980s by Helmut Feierabend of Wurzburg, Germany. It was Mr. Feierabend's intention to restore the wrecked Bugatti with the Voll & Ruhrbeck coachwork of 57819. The work, however, was never completed.

The project was later sold to Mr. Uwe Hucke, who in turn sold it to collector Jim Patterson of Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Patterson did not complete the project, rather it was sold to a new owner in Australia, Richard Longes. By this point in history, the original engine had seized and was thought to be beyond repair, and an extra engine, 25C (formerly of chassis 57646), accompanied the chassis.

Mr. Longes commissioned a new body to be constructed by Auto Classique Touraine in the style of Gangloff design 3449, which had never been produced due to the outbreak of World War II. Jim Stanberg and his shop, High Mountain Classics, completed the chassis and driveline restoration.

The complicated restoration was completed in 2010, and the Bugatti then began a new life traveling the concours circuit. It made its restoration debut at The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering in 2010 and received the Best Pre-War Sportscar award. It was shown at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, where it received the Best New Coachwork accolade. Subsequently, the Bugatti participated in a number of Bugatti rallies in the United States and abroad.

This Bugatti Type 57 Roadster is currently powered by a 3,257cc DOHC supercharged inline 8-cylinder engine with a single dual throat Updraft carburetor developing 160 horsepower at 5,500 RPM. There is a four-speed Cotal pre-selector manual transmission, four-wheel drum brakes, and a live rear axle.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2023