1936 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet

This Bugatti began life as an Atalante (the second of seven examples constructed) but would gain its current Faux Cabriolet body sometime around or before 1946. The roof had been removed and new bumpers were added. It was given chrome rear fender trim, a rear luggage rack, and a folding windscreen. It appears to have a second-series Type 57 frame. The number 46512 is for a Type 46 which is believed to have been done for one of its prior registrations.

Provenance
This Bugatti was built in June of 1935 and was registered on June 8th to Lucien Blanc of Agen. It remained with Mr. Blanc for approximately a year before it was sold to an unknown individual in Paris, who registered it there on August 7th of 1936 as '6273 RK 5.' Georges Pilon de Loynes of Nantes acquired it in September of 1938 and registered it '9941 JH4.' The car's next owner was an airplane pilot named Pierre Douarre who would later depart for the Russian Front in 1944. The car, perhaps, remained at his home near Toulon where it survived the war. In August of 1946, it was put back on the road by a Marseilles-area mechanic.

Jean Filippi of Bouches du Rhone registered the car as '6788 CB4' on August 26th, 1946. Less than a month later, it was sold to Marcel Maillet or Marseilles. Several short-term Marseilles owners followed before it returned to Paris in August 1949. In 1956, it was bought at auction by Christian d'Epenoux, who kept it briefly before selling it to Alexandre Babeanu for 3,000 Francs. Claude Jeangirard of the Loire Valley purchased it in 1974 and kept it for nearly a decade, selling it in 1983 to Michel Seydoux. While in his care, the car was given a refreshing to its black and red paint scheme, and the mechanical components were overhauled by Gaston Garino of Puteaux. At some point during the ownership of Mr. Seydoux, the car was known as 57668, likely due to being fitted with its registration number. However, it is believed that this vehicle bears no part of that car, a Gangloff Stelvio. It is believed that this is 57263 with a cabriolet-modified body. The current owner purchased the car in the late 1990s.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2022