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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe - from another planet

Name: Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) 1935
Brand: Bugatti

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Created on February 9, 2022

Text:

Wolfram Hamann

Photos:

Bernard Canonne - Courtesy Artcurial

Wolfram Hamann

Bruno von Rotz

Antoine Dellenbach

Marcus Dodridge - Courtesy Goodwood Festival of Speed

Mathieu Bonnevie - Courtesy Peter Auto

Larry Edsall

Kimball Studios / Courtesy of Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

Julien Hergault - Courtesy Peter Auto

Artcurial

Kevin Van Campenhout

Bernard Canonne - Courtesy Artcurial

Wolfram Hamann

Bruno von Rotz

Antoine Dellenbach

Marcus Dodridge - Courtesy Goodwood Festival of Speed

Mathieu Bonnevie - Courtesy Peter Auto

Larry Edsall

Kimball Studios / Courtesy of Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

Julien Hergault - Courtesy Peter Auto

Artcurial

Kevin Van Campenhout

Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - faithful reproduction of the missing one-off model

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - the riveting of the roof area could be due to the fact that the "Elektron" material used was very delicate to weld

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - the hood is higher than on the following Atlantic variants

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - with flat radiator grille

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - rear view

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - rear-opening doors

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - View into the cockpit

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - large steering wheel, large instruments

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - Speedometer from Jaeger up to 200 km/h

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - beautifully drawn Jaeger instruments

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - rev counter from Jaeger, up to 6000 rpm

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - Water temperature and oil pressure gauges

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - beautifully designed controls

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - in-line eight-cylinder engine

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - the engine is also a work of art

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - fine craftsmanship under the hood

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - Ignition distributor

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - A look under the hood

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - elegantly designed technology

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - Chassis number

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - Hints under the hood

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - special registration number

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - Trademark

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - the flat radiator, while the Atlantic had an angled radiator.

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - semi-integrated headlights

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - Air outlet for the hood

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - elegant fuel filler cap

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - integrated indicators

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - the special design on the roof

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - the tires were specially made for the Recreation

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe (R) (1935) - 600 x 18 tires

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Bugatti 57 S Atlantic (1936) - Concours Chantilly Arts & Elegance 2017

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Best of Show (pre-war) - Bugatti 57 S Atlantic (1936) - Concours Chantilly Arts & Elegance 2017

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Arizona Concours d'Elegance 2017 - Bugatti Atlantic (1936)

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Arizona Concours d'Elegance - Bugatti Atlantic (1936)

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Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic (1936) - Most Elegant Closed Car at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 2021

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Bugatti T 57SC Atlantic (1936) - Mullin Museum

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Bugatti 57 SC Atlantic (1938) - participant in Class B - Thoroughbreds - at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2013

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Bugatti Type 57S Atlantic (1937) - at Goodwood Press Day 2013

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The recreations (from left to right) - Bugatti T57 Atlantic, Bugatti T57 Roadster and Bugatti T57 G Le Mans

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Recreation of the legendary Bugatti T57 Atlantic

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Bugatti 57 Atlantic modifiée Erik Koux (1936) - offered as lot 039 at the Artcurial Rétromobile auction in Paris on February 8, 2019

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Bugatti 57 Atlantic modifiée Erik Koux (1936) - the "Replica" achieved a price of around EUR 850,000 - Artcurial Rétromobile Auction 2019

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Rare replica: Bugatti T 57 Atlantic - built by Erik Koux - on offer at Interclassics Maastricht 2020

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Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic Recreation (1938) - in the Zeithaus Wolfsburg

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Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe replica (1935) - seen at the Techno Classica 2006

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Summary

The Bugatti T 57 Aérolithe is one of the most admired cars in history, but unfortunately the original has not survived. As a show car, however, it was on a par with the equally rare Atlantic model, of which three examples still exist. This report gives a brief overview of the two models and shows a faithful "recreation" of the Bugatti T 57 Aérolithe in many pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

Four Atlantic
The replicas of Mr. Koux
A show car as the predecessor of the Atlantic
Prototype Aérolithe disappeared
Recreation

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Bugatti Type 57 automobiles are all fascinating cars for which Jean Bugatti (1909-1939), the son of the company founder, was responsible. The importance of the Type 57 can perhaps be judged by the fact that it is even the subject of crime fiction (Martin Walker: Grand Prix - it's about the Atlantic) or a comic book (Main/Phallipou: The Magic of the Atalante). Of course, its importance is also reflected in the fact that an entire museum is dedicated to this type of car alone (separate section of the Autovision Museum, Altlußheim). Although a total of 726 Type 57 Bugattis left the factory in Molsheim, each one is special because of its different body variants and technology. The Type 57 SC Atlantic is probably the most spectacular.

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