As the 1930s unfolded, Bugatti focused on a single new chassis designed under the direction of “Le Patron” Ettore Bugatti’s talented son Jean, replacing the firm’s prior multimodel strategy. Designated Type 57, the new Bugatti was based upon the DOHC engine design of the Type 49, yet carefully refined by Jean Bugatti. While certainly drawing on the company’s rich tradition, the Type 57 marked an entirely new era at Molsheim and served as Bugatti’s primary road model and the foundation for its incredibly fast Grand Prix and Le Mans racing cars until wartime returned to Europe. Type 57-based racing cars achieved many international successes in the hands of prewar driving legends including Robert Benoist, Réné Dreyfus, Raymond Sommer, Pierre Veyron and Jean-Pierre Wimille, including achievement of many world records in 1936 and outright victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1937 and 1939. The basic Type 57 even lived on as the foundation of the postwar Type 101, Bugatti’s last. Serious Type 57 production commenced in 1934 and continued until 1940 along two generally accepted series. The Galibier sedan, Ventoux coach (two-door sedan) and Stelvio drophead coupe comprised the bulk of Type 57 road- car production, followed in 1935 by the Atalante coupe, with coachwork mostly built in Bugatti’s Molsheim coachworks or in small numbers by Gangloff in nearby Colmar. While the Type 57 was an unqualified success for Bugatti, production only reached 710 examples in all along numerous road and competition variants. While all surviving Bugatti automobiles are immensely collectible, valuable and, above all, enjoyable, this singular Type 57 is a particularly attractive and fascinating example. Carrying Chassis No. 57295 and Engine No. 121, it has been a part of the Rick Grant collection since 1968, after Grant found the car in a classified ad placed in the January-February 1968 issue of Antique Automobile, the magazine published by the AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America). Purchased for $1,850 from Emil Schrickel of Costa Mesa, California, the Type 57 was previously believed to have been fitted with Gangloff coachwork. However, following intensive research at the Bugatti Trust in England, Grant discovered the body was in fact one-off coachwork by Henri Binder of Paris. Binder’s expertise with Bugatti chassis was considerable, with the firm having already earned critical acclaim for its Coupe de Ville coachwork for the low-production, massive and breathtakingly expensive Bugatti Type 41 Royale. In 1994, Grant commissioned Bugatti expert Donald Koleman’s Competition Motors of Salem, Massachusetts, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to perform an extensive restoration, including an engine rebuild, with the work completed in 2016. Handsomely finished in distinctive Eggplant and black paint with striking two-tone brown and tan upholstery, the Type 57 is complemented by a black top with formal, Victoria-style blind rear quarters and black-painted, knock-off wire wheels. The 3257cc twin-cam inline 8-cylinder engine and engine compartment are highly detailed and well presented, including Bugatti’s signature details, with the engine paired to a 4-speed manual gearbox. Awarded Best of Show at the 2016 Dayton Concours and the Cincinnati Concours, this one-of-one, Binder- bodied Type 57 was also displayed at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and completed the Tour d’Elegance required for competitive exhibition. In addition, the Bugatti garnered a special award at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. The only Bugatti of its kind with its elegant, yet sporting Henri Binder coachwork, this Type 57 carries all the earmarks of collector car greatness with its incomparable heritage, interesting provenance, concours-quality restoration and appearances at the top events in the collector car world.
