1936 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic
A 1930s Bugatti has sold for about $30 million to become the world’s most expensive car -- with dealers predicting more records as billionaires look for alternatives to risky financial investments.
The Type 57SC Atlantic was bought in a private transaction for nearly as much as its asking price, dealers with knowledge of the matter said. The coupe had been owned by the New Hampshire-based neurologist Peter D. Williamson, a former president of the American Bugatti Club, who died in 2008.
The Williamson family’s sale was brokered by the Santa Monica-based classic auto specialists, Gooding & Company. Katie Hellweg, the company’s spokeswoman, said in an interview that she wouldn’t comment on the price or the buyer.
The 123-mph car was bought by the California-based collector Peter W. Mullin, who specializes in French coach- built classic cars, said Max Girardo, a London-based specialist with RM Auctions, who on May 1 held a 33.2 million-euro ($42.8 million) car sale in Monaco.
Mullin is the founder of Mullin TBG, which provides executive benefit packages. Calls to his company press office weren’t immediately returned. Mullin paid 260,500 euros at a Paris auction by Bonhams in January for a wrecked 1920s Bugatti Brescia Type-22 roadster that had been salvaged from a Swiss lake.
The Williamson Bugatti 57SC Atlantic was designed by Ettore Bugatti’s son, Jean, and debuted at the 1935 Paris Motor Show. The futuristic design, made out of welded aluminum with a distinctive central seam, attracted three orders, only two of which survive in their original condition.
One is owned by the fashion designer Ralph Lauren. The other was acquired by Williamson at a Sotheby’s auction in Los Angeles in June 1971 for a then-record price of $59,000.
edited text: Scott Reyburn
photo credit: bloomberg.com
