Bugatti Type 57 Atalante Coupé Coachwork By Carrosserie Gangloff 1938, França

Bugatti Type 57 Atalante Coupé Coachwork By Carrosserie Gangloff 1938, França

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By the early 1930s Ettore Bugatti had established an unrivalled reputation for building cars with outstanding performance on road or track; the world's greatest racing drivers enjoying countless successes aboard the Molsheim factory's products and often choosing them for their everyday transport. Because of its lengthy run of success, Ettore Bugatti remained stubbornly committed to his single-cam engine, only adopting the more advanced double-overhead-camshaft method of valve actuation, after much prompting by his eldest son Jean, on the Type 50 of 1930. From then on Jean Bugatti took greater responsibility for design, his first car being the exquisite Type 55 roadster, a model ranking among the finest sports cars of the 1930s. He followed that with a design of equal stature, the Type 57. A larger car than the Type 55, the Type 57 was powered by a 3.3-litre, double-overhead-camshaft straight eight of modern design housed in Bugatti's familiar Vintage-style chassis. Showing the strong influence of Jean Bugatti, it at last gave the marque a civilised Grande Routière to match those of rivals Delage and Delahaye.
The Type 57 attracted coachwork of the finest quality executed in a startling variety of styles but was no mere rich man's plaything, as evidenced by two outright wins at Le Mans; proof, if it were needed, that ancestral virtues had not been abandoned when creating a car fit to rank alongside Rolls-Royce or Bentley. Its success is revealed by the production figures: some 670-or-so examples of all Type 57 models were produced between 1934 and 1940, and the post-war Type 101 was based on its chassis. However, although many Type 57s were fitted with bespoke bodies, the most popular coachwork was built to Jean Bugatti's designs by the marque's preferred carrossier, Gangloff of Colmar, just a few miles from the Bugatti works at Molsheim. Factory offerings on the Type 57 chassis included the Galibier four-door saloon, Stelvio cabriolet, four-seater Ventoux coupé, and two-seater Atalante coupé. In Greek mythology, the athletic huntress Atalanta would only marry a man that could out-run her; it is thus a most appropriate appellation for this fast, exotic and very stylish Bugatti. The Type 57 in all its forms attracted discerning owners who were only satisfied with the best, among them speed king Sir Malcolm Campbell.
This fine Bugatti Type 57 – number '57633' – is a later example and thus benefits from a reinforced cross-braced chassis, rubber engine mounts, and Lockheed hydraulic brakes. Like all Type 57 Atalante coupés, it was bodied by Bugatti's close collaborator, Carrosserie Gangloff of Colmer. It had been ordered by one Fernand Crouzet, who specified unique rear bodywork, special bumpers, and wheel discs, and is the only Type 57 known have these unusual features. Finished in two-tone black over blue, the Bugatti was first registered on 7th April 1938.
Mr Crouzet kept the car until 1943 when it was registered in Paris, and like so many exotic and valuable French automobiles is said to have been hidden away during the war to prevent it falling into German hands. Following extensive renovation by the Paris Bugatti agency, '57633' was despatched to the UK where it served as one of the French Embassy's official cars. As such it carried France's national 'F' plate and the 'CD' plate of the Corps Diplomatique, both of which were still in place when it was sold at auction in 1987 (see below).
In 1948 the Bugatti was sold to a new owner in Scotland, one W Morrilees, and later that same year was acquired by Dr J H Weir of New Seaham, who within a year or so had sold the car to Mr J G H Carter. Mr Carter kept the Atalante until 1955 when it passed to Bugatti Club member and motoring author, Kenneth Ullyett of Hampton Court. The Bugatti remained in the Ullyett family's possession until 1987, its owner having died ten years previously, when it was discovered sharing a shed with a diverse collection of classic vehicles. Having stood for several years in less than ideal conditions, the car required extensive renovation.
Sold at auction as a 'barn find', the Type 57 was taken to the USA where a no-expense-spared body-off restoration was carried out by Classic & Exotic Service Inc of Michigan. The quality of their work may be gauged from the fact that following completion it was judged a 100-Point restoration in 2005. The current vendor's father purchased the Atalante from its previous private owner circa 2006/2007, having viewed it at the Bugatti Museum in Cheltenham where it was stored. The car is currently registered in the UK and comes with a V5C document.
Offered with a comprehensive history file, this exceptional Type 57 Atalante, with its unique coachwork features, would be an ideal candidate for touring, rallies, leisure driving and any of the world's most prestigious concours events: Pebble Beach, Villa d'Este, Amelia Island, etc.