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Rare Bugatti garage find sells for $4.4 million

 
7 9,911 views Feb 8, 2009

The Type 57S Atalante's value is surpassed only by its rarity

The Type 57S Atalante's value is surpassed only by its rarity

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Bugatti's cars are today one of the most cherished in existence, whether old, like the Type 57S Atalante left by a UK physician in his will this week, or new, like the Veyron Sang Noir, which is dedicated to that very classic. The incredible 1937 Bugatti left to the doctor's nieces and nephews has now been sold an auction in Paris for about $4.4 million.

The car was left in a garage willed to the man's relatives without indicating what was inside. Along with the Bugatti, they found an E-Type Jaguar and an undisclosed type of Aston Martin, reports The Telegraph. The incredible finds were completely unexpected by the family.

Built as a modified version of the standard Type 57, the Type 57S Atalante was lower, more powerful and even rarer - only 17 of them were ever made. A yet rarer variant - the Type 57SC, for supercharged - was also made, but only two such cars were built by Bugatti from the factory. Many 57S owners later had the superchargers, which could boost output as high as 200hp (149kW), installed by the factory in Molsheim.

The standard 57S, like that pictured above, still generated a substantial 175hp (130kW), enough to propel it to about 130mph, and the Atalante was a unique variant with elements drawn from the 1935 Aerolithe concept car, including aluminum body panels among other innovations.

Despite selling for such a substantial amount, the car was expected to reach prices as high as $8.75 million.



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Comments (7)

  1. ma_The Mii avatar The Mii Posted: 1/1/2009 8:26pm PST

    And this is why bugatti is better than the SSC or any kit car for that fact
     
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  2. ma_Mike avatar Mike Posted: 1/2/2009 1:17pm PST

    Agreed, but only the old Bugattis like this are cool, forget the Veyron. Though the EB110SS will retain its place in my heart.
     
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  3. ma_justinhk2000 avatar justinhk2000 Posted: 1/2/2009 10:05pm PST

    ^what do you mean forget the veyron, the veyron is a magnificant car. It shows the pinnacle of automotive engineering, try saying that for the SSC.
     
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  4. ma_NoNameDenton avatar NoNameDenton Posted: 2/8/2009 7:15pm PST

    justinhk2000 you mean the car that can run out of gas in about 30 seconds if push hard
     
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  5. ma_Ivan avatar Ivan Posted: 2/9/2009 12:49pm PST

    NoName

    I bet there are maybe 5 places in the world where you could push Veyron 30 seconds in row for it to run out of gas. Has to be special speed track.
     
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  6. ma_Roy avatar Roy Posted: 2/9/2009 1:41pm PST

    I think NoNameDenton is recalling a Top Gear episode in which they ran a Bugatti flat out to see how far one gallon of gas would take it. That huge engine takes a lot of gas, but the car has a pretty big gas tank... I tell you what: you buy a Veyron, I'll buy a full tank of gas for it and you can drive it as hard as you like for a full minute (I'm being generous). If the car runs out of gas, you get to keep it; otherwise it belongs to me. Any takers?
     
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  7. ma_Roy avatar Roy Posted: 2/9/2009 1:43pm PST

    Oh and the point is that whoever bought this car got it for a steal. It's a rare car with bodywork that won't rust and properly maintained examples that sell for $10M in a good market. My guess is the buyer will double his investment in 3 years flat ... in the current economy!
     
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