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1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante Coupe Goes Under the Hammer

One of just over 40 Type 57S chassis built and one of only 17 Atalante Coupes is to be auctioned at the upcoming Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este on May 21st, RM Auctions announced. Expected to fetch somewhere between €3.250.000-€4.250.000 ($4.6 -$6 million), the example in question was the first of four Type 57 Atalante Coupes produced with streamlined headlamps during the summer of 1937.

Road tested on June 4, 1937, the car was completed and left Bugatti’s Molsheim coachworks with Atalante coachwork on July 23 of the same year.

Undergoing an extensive restoration, it was then refinished in the two-tone scheme of Patrol Cream and Lemon Oxide. The car was completed in 1976, the year it was awarded Best of Show at the 26th Annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. In fact, this particular
example was the last of classic-car collector William Harrah’s four Pebble Beach Best of Show-winning cars.

Technical highlights include a 200 hp, 3,257 cc supercharged DOHC inline eight-cylinder dry-sump engine, four-speed manual gearbox, hollow front axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, live rear axle with reversed quarter-elliptic leaf springs and torque arm, and four-wheel cable-operated mechanical drum brakes.

“In 2002, the present owner commissioned a professional cosmetic refurbishment of the Atalante, returning the car to its fully restored glory. Today, it looks every bit as good as it did in the 1970s, a true testament to the meticulous care lavished on it since its Pebble Beach award-winning restoration was completed. With its fascinating and well-documented history from new, supercharged engine and wonderful presentation, this Type 57SC is certainly one of the most attractive, rare and best performing of all Bugatti road cars. It truly epitomises artistry in motion,” RM Auctions says.
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