1938 Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux Coupe

Ettore Bugatti can certainly be considered one of the more colorful characters throughout automotive history. Though born in Italy, Bugatti spent most of his life in France. Nearly 8,000 cars bearing the Bugatti name were produced at the Molsheim factory located in Alsace, France. This number includes fifty two different models produced over the years from about 1910 to 1951. They ranged from the Type 35 Grand Prix racer, to one of the most costly and luxurious automobiles ever built, the Bugatti Royale. Bugattis were both superb performers for their time as well as aesthetically pleasing automobiles. Unlike other race car builders of the era, Bugatti sold cars to his competitors while his cars were still winning races.

In addition to being an automaker, Ettore Bugatti was an avid horseman and the traditional horseshoe grille became the trademark of every Bugatti built from race cars to touring cars. The Type 57 can certainly be considered the most celebrated non-racing Bugatti ever built. Introduced in 1934, production continued until the outbreak of war in 1939 - in all its forms 710 were sold.

The Type 57 was a design and engineering masterpiece; its chassis fitted with bodies created almost entirely by Jean Bugatti, son of Ettore. The Type 57 was the first Bugatti that didn't share its chassis design with race cars, as had earlier models. It would be the rival of its competitors Delahaye and Delage offering a car capable of high performance without sacrificing comfort, luxury, or convenience.

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.