1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante Coupe

By on in Etceterini May 2004 issue
The catalog offered a believable explanation that the factory records are "mistaken," and that the car was indeed an Atalante from day one
The Type 57 Bugatti was introduced in March 1934, and variants of this touring model formed virtually the entire output from the Molsheim factory until war intervened in September 1939-by which time a total of less than 700 examples had been produced. Influenced by Ettore Bugatti's talented young son Jean, the car was larger and more refined than previous models. This particular Atalante Coupe, chassis no. 57679 fitted with engine no. 496, was invoiced by the factory as a Gangloff Stelvio drophead cabriolet for delivery to Earl Howe. However, RM Auctions believe that the records are mistaken because for well over 50 years the Atalante on offer here has been known and widely regarded as the Lord Cholmondley Atalante. This is further substantiated by period photographs taken in front of Lord Cholmondley's house that show the Atalante registered with his traditional number plate, FGC180. Furthermore, the car known as the Lord Howe Stelvio, chassis no. 57698, resides in a museum in Texas. In the mid 1950s, this Atalante was imported into the U.S. and subsequently registered to a Mr. Sorenson of New Jersey. It remained within the care of the Sorensen family for at least 20 years. In the late 1980's, the Atalante passed through a succession of owners until it became a centerpiece within the Len Immeke collection. It was during this time that it was upgraded with a supercharger by the marque specialists Competition Motors. Several years later, the Atalante changed hands once again, going to an important Japanese collector until it was purchased by the actor, Nicolas Cage. It remains in excellent condition and truly show worthy, as it is one of the most beautiful, striking designs to have been produced at Molsheim. This Atalante is truly an important car that would be a centerpiece of any collection. Attesting to this, the Atalante has been shown at Pebble Beach, where it was met with much enthusiasm from the judges and crowds.

SCM Analysis

Detailing

Vehicle:1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante

This T57C Bugatti Atalante sold for $533,500 at the RM Auction in Phoenix, AZ, held on January 23, 2004. It had sold previously at RM’s Amelia Island sale in March 2002 for $451,000.

In the early 1930s, Le Patrone decided that as plagiarism was the most sincere form of admiration, he would buy two or three Miller straight-eight Indy cars and faithfully copy the magnificent twin cam design. The Bugatti Type 50, 51 and 55 followed, using the Miller-derived engine.

With father Ettore busy with a train project, his talented son Jean designed the Type 57. For production purposes the Miller design was simplified and the camshafts were driven by a quirky and typically French train of gears at the rear of the engine. In retrospect the T57 was the Bugatti with the largest production numbers, the best road-going Bugatti, and unfortunately, Bugatti’s swan song.

The car came in two series with four variations, namely T57, T57C (compressor), T57S (short, low-slung chassis), and T57SC (with a blower added to the short chassis). At least in theory, every chassis could have been ordered with any of the following “standard” body styles: Galibier (four-door sedan), Ventoux (two-door, four-seat coupe), Stelvio (two-door, four-seat cabriolet), Atalante (two-door, two-seat coupe) and Aravis (two-door, two-seat cabriolet).

This being far too simple for the French, it should be noted that several racing models of the T57 were produced, usually called 57TT (as in Tourist Trophy), and a number of coachbuilders from Portugal to Poland created “one offs.” Confused? Don’t worry, you are not alone.

This brings us to the subject at hand, namely chassis number 57679. An old friend, we met for the first time two years ago at RM’s Amelia Island auction, where the car was being offered for sale from the collection of SCM’er Nicolas Cage. I vividly recall the car, which carried what is most likely an Argentine reproduction blower (a well-done piece, probably better than an original supercharger) and looked like a very nice driver-meaning that if you wanted to show it, it’s nut-and-bolt, home-equity-loan time. The T57 sold for $451,000.

Moving forward to this January, we find ourselves at the elegant surroundings of the Arizona Biltmore, where RM is again auctioning this Atalante. The biggest question is, no doubt, the factory records that list the car as a Stelvio. An issue, of course, as those are worth perhaps $65,000-$90,000 less than Atalantes.

The catalog offered a believable explanation that the factory records are “mistaken,” and that the car was indeed an Atalante from day one, not just a quick rebody by a capricious English lord, though that’s also possible. In those days the rich and powerful could say to the selling agent, “Rebody this thing right away; it blows around my mistress’ hair,” and the car went quickly to Alsace and came back as an Atalante. And of course, the rich routinely screwed the Inland Revenue (the equivalent of the IRS), so the deal would most likely have been in cash, with no records existing. Regardless of whether this was an original Atalante or not, do you really want to have to make excuses for your car’s provenance?

And just as the car has laid its claim to being an original factory Atalante, it is now being sold as a T57C implying that it also came from the factory with a supercharger, which is not true. Considering that there is a significant difference in value between the plain vanilla T57s and factory blown T57C cars (from 25 to as much as 50 percent of value) perhaps this point is not so minor.

The Atalante Coupe was hammered at $485,000 (with the premium bringing the price to $533,500), meaning the seller likely paid nothing to enjoy this car for two years. Congratulations. I do hope the new buyer was aware of exactly what he was buying, a magnificent car with a few issues, in driving but not Pebble condition, at a full but not excessive price.-Raymond Milo

(Photos, historical and discriptive information courtesy of the auction company.)