21st Century interpretation of Jean Bugatti’s aero-focussed two-door is due at Geneva – here are the details
Bugatti is bringing a 21st century interpretation of one of its most iconic cars to the Geneva motor show next month that, if reports are accurate, has cost its buyer £13.9 million. Rumours suggest this Type 57 SC Atlantic tribute project is a personal order for Ferdinand Piech, who you may remember was the Volkswagen Group chairman until 2015, so is probably not short of a few quid.
At the moment, we’ve only the bird’s-eye view sketch and a promise that this will be a modern “re-creation” of the curvaceous, aero-focussed 1935 original (which Bugatti nerds may also know as the Aérolithe, its original moniker). But that’s quite a lot to live up to, being as it was an aluminium-bodied coupe that used a supercharged 3.25-litre eight-cylinder engine producing more than 200hp. For its day, it was ground breaking – and a later version named the ‘Tank’ subsequently won the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Even without all of those accolades, it was a model that Jean Bugatti, the first son of Ettore Bugatti, designed and owned himself, so it has plenty of history right from the top of the food chain. Tragically, it was also in a Type 57 Tank that Jean lost his life during a testing accident in 1939, lending a sombre note to the model’s intrinsic connection with Bugatti’s history.
Just three of the original four Type 57 Atlantics survive, all with enormous values – one sold in 2010 to Walmart boss Rob Walton for more than $30 million. In these stratospheric realms, it leaves Piech’s new car looking like a comparable steal. Watch this space…
Source: Read Full Article