France in 30’s. Heavy clouds. Featureless Seine. Raindrops are falling down from the sopping wet hat to the glossy jacket. Fabric glitter is plunging into darkness of Paris and the eye is longing for light so much. An idea comes into the head of a genius: “A car… For everyone… Best of all!” Being only 20 years old Jean Bugatti, the son of the founder of the famous French brand, created something outstanding in the world of cars. Brought up in keeping with the family traditions and skills of his father Ettore and grandfather Carlo, the young man realized that he had to create a model which could serve as a sedan, touring car, sports and racing car at the same time. “It will have the colour of the blue sky”, said Lord Rothschild, the first owner of Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic.
Starting with a clean slate the designers from Molsheim, a small French town located close to the border with Germany, were bringing the project to perfection under the guidance of the young engineer. No other car of pre-war period could display such advanced technology. The heart of Atlantic was an eight-cylinder engine equipped with two overhead camshafts set at an angle of 93 degrees which was almost like a technical revolution at that time. Up to the 1950’s the engines with underhead camshafts were used. Type 57 had a 4-speed gearbox. Jean Bugatti decided to replace a small diameter multi-plate clutch with a single plate clutch. Specially designed clutch cover became a total innovation in Bugatti’s practice. Almost ideally designed and built, the robust frame gained additional rigidity from the engine mounts. 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic is still considered to be one of the most successful modifications created by Jean Bugatti.
Revolutionary, like a delay-action bomb, Bugatti Atlantic is called «The Ultimate Super Car». Though today the technical characteristics of Type 57SC may leave you cold, it was a real breakthrough in 1936. In the mid 30’s Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic was considered to be a real animal. Right under its bonnet on the low and short chassis there was a 3,257 cc engine with 72mm bore and 100mm stroke. The legendary car with 210 hp produced by the engine at 5500 rpm was able to accelerate up to almost 130 mph (~200 km/h). It was the fastest road car of its time!
But it was not only about the speed. Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic had a revolutionary design as well. The body panels were handmade out of the flammable magnesium and aluminium alloy called “Elektron” and riveted externally as the welding method was not possible. The solution was as unusual as the problem itself. Jean brought outside the riveted joints which used to be hidden till that time. It turned to be a telling combination of form and function. Created by a genius engineer and designer Jean Bugatti, this supercar was recognized as the most beautiful car of the 20th century.
By the time the manufacturing began in 1936 the flammable “Elektron” gave place to the light aluminium but the riveted coachwork remained the same. The teardrop body of Atlantic is still one of the most unique automotive designs in history. As if the elegant functionality and distinctive exterior came together on a painter’s canvas.
Rare in all senses, Type 57SC was not only the most powerful supercar in the pre-war period. Bugatti Atlantic can be justly called a masterpiece of the world culture. An interesting combination of airplane parts prototype and some avant-garde flavour sends us implicitly to the style of the 30’s. And if you imagine Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic as a moving work of art, its price would not look that high. Taking into account the inflation and all world financial cataclysms, the current $40 million price is not even in the “Top-40” of the most expensive paintings. It’s a real “Rolling Stones of its time” with the destiny blurred by the atmosphere of secrets and mysteries.
In 1936 Bugatti produced only four splendid Type 57SC Atlantic cars. Only two of the cars survived — one of them is sky-blue, the second one is black. La Voiture Noire is now in France and belongs to Ralph Lauren being the gem of his car collection.
The second car of the original Dark Sapphire Blue colour resides in the Mullin Automotive Museum (Oxnard, CA, USA). Supercars like Atlantic don’t often ‘change hands’. Since 1945 only three lucky men could boast of owning this Type 57SC. The world record for Type 57SC Atlantic was set in 1971 when its price reached $59,000. In 2010 it was purchased at auction by an unknown gentleman. His name is still a mystery. So is the price he paid for this powerful and elegant splendour. Though they say that it was somewhere between $30 and $40 million USD.
The automotive history numbers more than 100 years and during this period a lot of companies, which created unique and truly revolutionary supercars, succeeded or collapsed, came back to life or vanished completely. It all can be referred to Bugatti, which is still alive. For good reason the motto of the modern brand presented by Veyron model is still the words said by Ettore Bugatti about his cars: «Nothing is too beautiful, nothing is too expensive».
Atlantic has proved those words many times on the famous Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance exhibition which attracts thousands of admirers of luxury cars. Not all modern supercars are able to enter the legendary contest nowadays. There are only 50 car brands in the world which allow participation at Pebble Beach. Bugatti Atlantic secured a place in this list in all categories once and forever. They do say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Someone can spot style and strange proportions in Type 57SC; someone can feel its royal luxury and power; others will just see an old car. But if you address the experts — Pebble Beach judges — they will tell you that it’s a superlatively beautiful car. Indeed “nothing is too beautiful, nothing is too expensive”.
Mariya Kovalyuk for Dragtimes.ru Photo: www.supercars.net, www.yesway.ru, www.mullinautomotivemuseum.com
