The €160m car that everyone is desperately looking for

Only the unsolved mystery of the eighth wonder of the world can be compared with the mysterious disappearance of the “black car”, which still preoccupies the automotive world to this day.

The bugatti No introduction needed. This is the auto industry Molsheim France, which wrote its name in golden letters in the history of cars, has distinguished manufacturing models Their incomparable beautyThe Explosive performance and the Very luxurious their personality.

where do I start? From Bugatti Type 41 – Also known as Bugatti Royal or Golden Bugatti – to her Bugatti Type 55 or the Chiron; The only sure thing is that wherever you start to unravel the tangles, the history of the French brand is rich Quadruple Manufacturing Achievements that evolved into four wheeler legends.

However, if you ask, one by one, the folks at Bugatti, from… the last craftsman to the CEO, Stephen WinkelmanAnd the What is the The best model ever to “wear” the weighty company logo, Everyone will agree: the legendary car is anything but Type 57 SC Atlantic Coupe.

The model was made in Four pieces between 1936-1938. Three of them exist to this day It is considered one of the most valuable cars in the automotive world. As for the fourth? The automotive world has been eagerly searching for it for more than 80 years…

But let’s take things from the beginning: circa 1930, S Jean BugattiHe, the son of the company’s founder Ettore, took on the difficult task Company product policy update: Instead of building many different models, he developed one model “as a base”, from which different versions will arise.

This was Type 57 Which will be available as a production car and as a racing car. The range consists of various engine and body options, including Galibier (four-seater saloon), Stelvio (cabriolet), Vento (two seats) f Atlanta (coupe). By 1940, when production ceased, approx 800 copies of the Type 57in various editions.

However, there was one car that survived the mass production craze that surpassed Bugatti. Special event model preferential treatment.

The Atlantic: A Work of Art with Four Wheels

It was atlantic, Which when it first came out everyone was talking about Of her incomparably strange beauty. The imposing wheels extended beyond the stark confines of the bodywork, and Capo was…fucking tallEspecially for a car with a total length of 3.70m. The The roof flowed down to form a charming oval Which left room for Six exhaust tips.

“The magnificent proportions of this masterpiece were incomparable for their time and even today are breathtaking.” said Achim Enscheid, Bugatti Design Director.

Aluminium Type 57 SC Atlantic Coupe Can at that time develop exceeded speed 200 km / h, please Its 8-cylinder turbocharged engine 3.3 liters that yielded 200 hp Unreal performance by the standards of the time.

Bugatti sold only three hand-built Atlantis cars. that 1936, The first “lot” was sold in gray and blue and frame number 57374 Lord Victor Rothschild, with the nickname “Rothschild Atlantic”. The third piece “Holzschuh Atlantic” with frame no 57473 Handed over to a French businessman Jack Holschuhto me 1936. The car’s second owner, a collector, died in a car accident at a railway crossing. Bugatti was completely destroyed. Decades later, it underwent a complete refit without saving the engine.

Another (fourth) owner of Atlantic production, chassis # 57591 is the legendary fashion designer Ralph Lauren. its first owner “Pope Atlantic” (May 1938) was British R.B.Pop.

The disappearance of the rarest car in the world

regarding second atlantic, This was produced for Jean Bugatti himself As the latter mentions, some of his close friends (mostly racing drivers for the brand) had the honor of sitting behind the wheel of the huge coupe with Frame number 57453. It’s about her “black car” (“The Black Car”) for which it was built – with only one piece – is The most expensive new car on the planet.

Unlike the remaining three models, the La Voiture Noire has been missing since 1938. The day is over 80 years laterIt is not clear if Jean Bugatti sold the car to a friend who raced in the brand’s “colours”, or if he passed it on to a safer member within France, When the Reich annexed Alsace.

The only sure thing is that Atlantic La Voiture Noire not found, With her disappearance being one of the greatest car mysteries, Which is like the unsolved mystery of the “Amber Room” (the eighth wonder of the world).

No one can trace the tracks of the car. Which if ever found, would even be worth up to 160 million euros.

Finally, it should be noted that at the end of 2021 they appeared on Reddit Some pictures that depicted a “corpse” of a Type 57 SC Atlantic Coupe, with the user reporting that he had solved the puzzle. An allegation that has not been proven true.

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