Bugatti Atlantic 70th Aniversary drawing...

I will have to correct my own post as of course Bugatti produced arround 7800-7900 cars in total......today there are arround 1800-2000 of those cars still existant! I apologize for this error!

 

Okay, but be a little patient with me, as I am a little busy right now!

 

So finally I got a little more done on this one also .....I'm really too busy for the moment, and things are getting even more hectic soon!

The picture here appears much darker than it really is when seen in real!
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Thanks a lot Andrew,

That's right, and the two groups were only seperated because the Ferrari part was growing too fast!
Those two Marques really stand in a class of their own!

 

It's really not that complicated, I'll try straighten out things a bit here

Chassis# 57374 (The first of the production Atlantics built) This is the car today owned by Dr. Peter Williamson and newly restored back to the state in which it left the factory in September 1936! This car was bought at Auction by Peter Williamson in 1971 for $ 59,000 which was a large sum at the time!
The former owner Robert Oliver ( Also an American), fitted new tail lights and bumpers to the Atlantic, and later had the car mechanical recondiioned at the Bugatti factory arround 1953! From here it went straight to "Hauswald" in Paris who fitted a Cotal electromagnetic transmission to the car! Then it went to Turin where "Ghia" made the enlargements of the rear windows and certain other minor changes, like raising and fairing of the headlamps! Then the car was painted "Tomato red" and it was fitted with newly designed chromed wheel disc covers!
After Williamson bought the car, he had it repainted again in the light Bugatti blue it used to be before the restoration of the car!

Chassis#57473 (The second of the production Atlantics built)(Often confusingly referred to as the "Third Atlantic" as the other two cars are in the US)
This is the "Seydoux car" or the one with different bodywork!
This Atlantic was substantially similar to the "Williamson car" when it was first produced, but the first owners returned the car to the factory shortly after purchasing it, and it remained unsold in the possesion of the factory for a number of years!
In 1938 or 1939 Jean Bugatti wanted certain modifications made to this car, such as enlargement of the doors, and enlargement of the rear fenders in pontoon style just as seen on the car today! Also Jean wanted a new design for the engine bonnet with the substitution of louvres on top and in the sides of the bonnet for the ventilation. Also the wipers on this car was attached from the top contrary to the two other cars which had their wipers attached below the windscreen.
Arround 1955 the car was driven by Chatard in France who then sadly lost his life when the car was hit by a train in a railroad crossing!
The car was then found again arround 1965 and rebuilt by a young Frenchman who spent arround 9 years on recreating the car! In 1974 it was then sold to Nicolas Seydoux, who is the present owner of the car, and he had the car totally restored by a famous French restorer in the late seventies and the car was in perfect shape again in 1981!

Chassis #57591 (The third and last one built)Originally painted a very deep Saphire blue, and repainted in a medium Bugatti blue colour in the seventies by Barrie Price, after he had a small road accident with the car in France!
This is the "Pope car" (so named because of it's first owner, R.B. Pope of Ascot, London) and the car that is today in the Lauren collection!
The story of this car is very simple, since it has nearly always looked the same since delivered from the factory, only with the exeption of different colours and other tail lights, and the chromed wheels that was at one time fitted to the car! This car had a lot of owners through the years, and finally went to Lauren in 1988 who had the car totally retored and painted it the Jet black colour that the car sports today!

I hope this cleared up things a little

Best regards

Carsten

 

It's the work of designer Paul Bracq and restorer André Lecoq in Paris! Still the car today is true to Jean Bugattis design!
I have pictures of the car from before the accident, that proves this fact!

Best

Carsten

 

I think it is only rumours, but I can't be sure!
I do know however that there are two attempts right now of recreating the Aerolithe, one in Canada and one in Germany! I hope to see at least one of them finished!

The louvres in top of the doors on the Williamson car were made in the original design of the car and it was so when the car was first sold! These louvres were closed by Ghia or Rocco Motto in the fifties, and "re-opened" when the car was recently restored!

As a side note; only the first two of the Atlantics had these louvres originally, and the third car had instead opennings or little vents in the roof that could be opened or closed!

Best regards

Carsten

 

Who told you about the car being sold in 1938??? Sounds mysterious to me......but interesting!
Pierre Marco the managing director of the Bugatti Factory writes in his notes that the car was used by Willams(the English race driver, and at that time sales agent for Bugatti in Paris) and Robert Benoist between 1937 and 1939, so this can not be possible! The transformation of the car was done at the Bugatti factory according to all the notes and litterature that I have available!
Also according to Bugatti factory records, the car was first sold again after the second World war, to a man called "Bodel" in Cannes!
Bodel sold the car in 1950 to Lamberjack, the Bugatti general distributor in the Paris region!
Again in 1950 Francois Mortarini and Gaston Garino in compagnionship bought the car from Lamberjack, and they again sold the car in 1952 to Antoine(Ren&#233 Chatard (in the name of a lady friend by the name of Madame Margurite Schneider, since his family did not allow him to buy another Bugatti,.... he already owned two Grand Prix Bugattis and a magnificent Type 50 Profilee!) Then in 1955 René Chatard lost his life when he and another lady friend were hit by the train, while driving the Atlantic!


Best

Carsten

 

Here is a link to the drawings of the car in question: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=135535927#post135535927

 

You may be right about that.....or most of it anyway! I am still convinced that the transformation of the car was made at the factory and that the changes were made upon request from Jean Bugatti, as it was he who wanted the changes made to the design!
The car was owned however by a jewish couple in 1936 when the car was new, but after they sold the car back to the factory it was again a "factory car"

In an earlier post, you mentioned that the "direction came from a Delahaye", I am not sure what you mean by that? Can you explain it for me?

Best regards

Carsten

 

Okay, I never heard about the car having steering and front axle from a Delahaye before!
Please do not apologize for your English! You are doing just fine! It's not always easy to translate from French to English, or the other way arround!

Where or how did you find out about these things? It is very interesting....
I cannot find anything about these things in the extensive litterature collection that I have available about the Atlantics, and neither in the historically research on the three Atlantics written by Les Matthews!
I am not saying that you are wrong, but I wonder why I never heard about any of these Delahaye details in the car!

Best regards

Carsten

 

I do, Thanks for posting them!

Best

Carsten