The Bugatti Type 57S is widely regarded as one of the most iconic cars to be produced by the French marque. With only 42 units ever made, the elegant grand tourer is also one of the rarest. However, a few examples among them are simply more special than the rest. It doesn’t get more exclusive and desirable than this spectacular Pebble Beach–winning 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante. It is one of the 17 Type 57S cars that features Atalante coachwork, which was designed in-house by Jean Bugatti and built in Molsheim. The car’s provenance further adds to its desirability. The Atalante is up for auction next month during Monterey Car Week, giving collectors a rare chance to acquire this piece of automotive history.
After being completed in September 1937, this particular example – chassis number 57573 – was put on display at the Salon de l’Automobile in Paris and the Earls Court Motor Show in London. Immediately after that, the pre-war classic was sold to a prominent Bugatti collector, C. Ian Craig. He repainted the Atalante in a black-and-white racing paint scheme to match his other Bugatti cars, including a Type 51, Type 54, and Type 59. In addition to entering it in the 1939 Lewes Speed Trials, Craig regularly used the Atalante to travel between the UK and St. Moritz, Switzerland, with his wife.
The beautiful Bugatti was then sold to David L. Griffith-Hughes, a British Bugatti enthusiast who swapped the black and white paint for two shades of gray. It was also during his ownership when the grand tourer was upgraded to the 57SC specification by fitting it with the Roots supercharger, which bumped up the inline-8’s output to 200 horsepower. It was also profiled in the August 1942 issue of Motor Sport. After a few ownership changes, the Atalante made its way to the US and underwent its first restoration. In 1965, the car was acquired by Dr. Peter Williamson, the president of the American Bugatti Club.
The Atalante was restored again in the 1990s and was later sold to a UK-based collector in 2006. As a tribute to the car’s first owner, it was repainted in black and white. However, it was in 2013 when the Atalante was purchased by a private California-based collection. The Bugatti was subjected to a “no-expense-spared restoration” carried out by renowned Bugatti specialist Scott Sargent of Sargent Metal Works in Bradford, Vermont. The thorough restoration addressed all cosmetic and mechanical aspects, with all efforts made to return the Atalante to its original form. The exterior was painted in a beautiful shade of deep blue and given a period-correct brown interior.
The restoration work was so impeccable that the Atalante was selected as First in Class over two other outstanding Type 57S Bugattis upon its debut at the 2023 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Interestingly, this particular vintage Bugatti is being offered for public sale for the first time. It will go under the hammer at Gooding & Company’s Sale next month and has a pre-sale estimate of $9,000,000 to $11,000,000. However, we won’t be surprised if it ends up selling for more than $13 million.
