1939 Atalanta Short Chassis Drophead Coupe

Atalanta Motors was founded in 1937 by Albert Gough of Frazer Nash and Bert Bertelli from Aston Martin. They built exciting sports cars using an innovative tubular steel chassis and fully independent suspension. A choice of three engines was offered: a 1.5- or 2-liter 4-cylinder engine or a 4.4-liter Lincoln Zephyr V12 on a longer chassis. An Arnott supercharger could also be fitted. These elegant cars were available as a two-door saloon, an open two-seat sports model or a drophead coupe as on this example. This car is one of only two V12-engined Atalantas known to survive and the only one with sporting drophead coupe coachwork by Abbott. The cars were very expensive and the outbreak of war stopped production after only 20 cars were built. Atalantas were driven in various competitions, including JCC events at Brooklands, and after testing the car, The Light Car magazine reported that 'the Atalanta has the tenacious quality of a racing car and its road holding is beyond criticism.'