A very rare 1939 Bugatti is to be sold for 2.5 million dollars (25 photos)

At the end of January, the auction house RM Sotheby's will put up for auction an unusual 1939 Bugatti. This is one of the last examples of the cult among fans of the brand low-volume chassis Type 57, additionally distinguished by a very rare body from the Gangloff studio. In addition, the auctioneers claim that the history of this example is fully known from the moment of assembly. They plan to get from 1.75 to 2.5 million dollars for the rarity.





The Type 57 chassis was equipped at the Molsheim factory with one of three types of factory bodies, but two years after the start of production, Jean Bugatti developed a two-seater version for the chassis, called the Atalante. By the end of the Type 57's life cycle in 1939, Bugatti itself was mainly producing four-door Galibiers, while other versions were either discontinued or transferred to third-party workshops.

To process an order for an Atalante coupe, which came in the spring of 1939 from a certain Louis Dupont from Algeria, the Gangloff workshop had to be involved. The original Atalante design had already been modified by the studio by that time, and the example put up for sale is one of the few Bugattis to receive a body of this type. Historians believe that only five or six such coupes were assembled. Such cars are distinguished by an extended rear "tail" and a roll-up roof with a fabric insert.

Bugatti Type 57 C with a supercharged engine and exclusive bodies, as a rule, cost much more. For example, in April, a roadster on this chassis from the same Gangloff studio went under the hammer for 6.6 million dollars with an expected maximum of 3.5 million. The relative cheapness of the current example is explained by its low originality, although auctioneers note the power unit, as well as chassis and body elements, preserved since 1939.







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