1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic fetches a record $30+ million at auction - worlds most valuable car
1936 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic, Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, California, 2003, 1600, 06.05.2010
A 1936 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic has eclipsed all previous known records for the most expensive car to ever exchange hands. The classic is one of only two that survive in original condition out of the three made and is said to have fetched between US$30 million (€23.4 million) and US$40 million (€31.2 million) at last week's Gooding & Company-brokered auction. It belonged to the late Dr. Peter D. Williamson of New Hampshire, who passed away in 2008. The other is in the hands of fashion designer Ralph Lauren
(black and blue model pictured)
Gooding & Company, the internationally celebrated auction house that offers a wide range of services, including private and estate sales, is proud to announce that it has sold the unparalleled 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic to an undisclosed buyer. As the official broker for the Trust that formerly owned the Atlantic, Gooding & Company found a devoted connoisseur who will become the guardian of this treasured piece of automotive history.
The Atlantic was an automobile derived from Bugatti's prototype Aerolithe Electron Coupé that caused a sensation when it was unveiled at the 1935 Paris Auto Salon. Bugatti later built just three Atlantics, each one different from the next, but this 1936 car (chassis #57374) is the first in the series and its historical significance, originality and restoration has been revered by enthusiasts throughout the world.
Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful automobiles ever created, it's not every day that a Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic changes hands. Only four of examples were ever made, and only two or three of them are still around today. One is owned by Ralph Lauren, and another belonged to the late Dr. Peter Williamson. Californian auction house Gooding & Company has now announced that the Williamson Bugatti has changed hands for a record sum, and though the buyer and exact amount paid remain undisclosed, reports place it between $30-40 million, easily eclipsing the $12.2 million paid for a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa this time last year.
Until his recent passing, Dr. Williamson had amassed a considerable collection of classic Bugattis. Gooding had helped assemble the collection, and since his passing has helped his estate sell them off. But the Atlantic – the crown jewel of the collection and winner of the 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance – was saved for last. According to reports, the car was acquired through Gooding by the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California
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