Eyes widen when vehicles fetch six-figure costs at public sale. Mouths drop when the bid reaches seven figures. Eight figures? Exceptional, and the Bugatti Kind 57SC Atlantic is one in all only some vehicles that has achieved such worth. The final one to move for public sale was in 2010, because the world was simply beginning to get better from the worldwide monetary disaster, and it nonetheless managed to promote for greater than $30 million.

Jay Leno explains what the fuss is all about within the newest episode of “Jay Leno’s Storage.” The featured automotive is a Kind 57SC Atlantic duplicate Leno has owned for 30 years. It has some authenticity, although, because it’s based mostly on a Bugatti chassis and powered by a Bugatti engine.

Bugatti solely constructed 4 of the delightfully swoopy coupes between 1936 and 1938 they usually stay the crown jewels of Bugatti manufacturing vehicles. The fashions got here to life when Ettore Bugatti’s son, Jean, determined to modernize the corporate’s car lineup.

Somewhat than constructing many alternative fashions, Bugatti determined to develop one automotive with totally different variants. The Kind 57 bore the Galibier sedan, Stelvio convertible, Ventoux two-door sedan, and Atalante coupe. By 1940, Bugatti ended manufacturing of the mannequin after producing 800 vehicles.

Nonetheless, the Kind 57SC Atlantic was totally different. Jean developed the automotive from the Aérolith prototype inbuilt 1935, and used aluminum for the physique. The outside additionally featured rivets, which recalled the Atlantic prototype produced from aviation supplies. Jean determined to call the coupe the Atlantic in honor of his pal, Jean Mermoz, who by no means returned from a South Atlantic aviation journey in 1936.

The distinctive design featured an impossibly lengthy hood that hid a 197-hp 3.3-liter inline-6. By this time horse-drawn carriages had been changed by the Ford Mannequin T, however 197 hp was unimaginable. The coupe may additionally clock a prime pace in extra of 125 mph.

Bugatti Kind 57SC Atlantic

Of the 4 Bugatti 57SC Atlantics constructed, simply three of those elegant fashions have been offered to personal prospects. The primary automotive (chassis no. 57374) was offered to British banker Victor Rothschild, and was the automotive that went to public sale in 2010. The third automotive (chassis no. 57473) was delivered to Jacques Holzschuh of France. The automotive was later concerned in a crash with a prepare that utterly destroyed it, although it underwent a painstaking restoration, albeit with most of its elements being new. Regardless of fashionable know-how and instruments, the engine was misplaced. The fourth automotive (chassis no. 57591) was offered to R.B. Pope of Britain. Right now, clothier Ralph Lauren owns it.

The second manufacturing mannequin (chassis no. 57453) stays a thriller. The one instance initially painted black, Jean Bugatti constructed the automotive for himself and lent it out to Bugatti racing drivers. Images exist of the automotive for promotional supplies, however there’s not a single document of the automotive after 1938. Bugatti believes it may have been offered to one in all Jean’s racing pals. A extra doubtless situation, per the model, is that the automotive was hidden as Germany invaded France throughout World Conflict II. Whereas it hasn’t been discovered to this present day, the automotive served as inspiration for a contemporary successor within the type of the one-off La Voiture Noire.

Click on on the video above for extra particulars in regards to the Bugatti 57SC Atlantic generally and Leno’s painstakingly constructed duplicate specifically.