1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante
- Engine
- 3.3L DOHC inline-eight, all-alloy, Roots-type supercharger, 160 bhp at 5,500 rpm
- Colour
- Royal blue with yellow sides (black paint believed original from late 1940s)
Chassis 57767 is a 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante, one of only three examples built with both the factory supercharger and the lightweight aluminium body — the rarest and fastest configuration among the 33 total Atalante-bodied Type 57 chassis ever produced. Delivered in December 1938 to its first owner in Paris, the car was registered under a plate linked to the 1938 Paris Salon exhibit and possibly shown there. After wartime storage, it passed through several French owners before spending some sixty years in single ownership from 1954. It retains matching numbers, original aluminium coachwork, and its first interior.
Ownership
- 2022-08-19Auction saleSold US$2,100,000
- 1938-12-10 →Factory deliveryAlbert Cahenfull documentation
Paris-based coffee business proprietor who ordered the car directly from the Bugatti showroom on the Champs-Élysées; took delivery finished in royal blue with tan leather. Car was undergoing factory repairs when war broke out and ownership appears to have ended around that time.
- → 1948Acquisition unknownAutomobiles Bugattipartial documentation
Believed to have stored the car at the Levallois-Perret workshop during wartime; the vehicle was reportedly displayed at the 1948 Paris Salon under its original registration plate and offered for sale by the factory.
- 1949 → 1952Acquisition unknownUnknown Paris-area ownernone documentation
Ownership during this window is unverifiable because relevant Paris registration records from that period no longer exist.
- 1952-09-11 → 1953-06-03Acquisition unknownBernard Greyfie de Bellecombepartial documentation
Paris resident who re-registered the car under a new plate; held it briefly before selling it on.
- 1953-06-03 → 1953-10-27Private saleRoger Berthetpartial documentation
Paris resident who held the car for only a few months before passing it to the next owner.
- 1953-10-27 → 1953-11-01Private saleChristian Prevost-Marcilhacypartial documentation
Young Paris student and enthusiast of pre-war machinery; drafted into military service shortly after purchase and consigned the car to a specialist dealer for sale.
- 1953-11-01 → 1954-08-01Private saleFrancis Mortarinipartial documentation
Early specialist in significant 1930s automobiles operating a garage in Neuilly-sur-Seine; held the car on consignment and arranged its eventual sale.
- 1954-08-01 →Private saleJean Pigerpartial documentation
Schlumberger employee who kept the car for roughly six decades, using it regularly before storing it in a heated outbuilding alongside a Mercedes 300SL and a Jaguar E-type he had bought new.
Competition
- 1938-10-011938 Paris SalonExhibited on Bugatti stand
The car wearing registration 1916-RM1 appeared on the Bugatti display stand; expert assessment suggests this may have been chassis 57767, possibly shown before final completion and delivery to its first owner.
- 1948-10-011948 Paris SalonDisplayed and offered for sale by factory
A black Type 57 Atalante carrying the same original registration plate was shown on a small Bugatti stand; believed to be this chassis being offered for sale by the factory after wartime storage.
Maintenance & restoration
- 1939RepairAutomobiles Bugatti (Levallois-Perret workshops)
The car was in the Bugatti workshops at Levallois-Perret for attention to a camshaft lubrication fault, as confirmed by a factory letter to the owner dated 30 August 1939.
Work was apparently interrupted or suspended when war broke out days later.
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