Bugatti 57S Cabriolet by Vanvooren
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Car producer : |
Bugatti |
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Model: |
57S Cabriolet by Vanvooren |
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Year: |
1937-1940 |
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Type: |
Cabriolet |
The Type 57S/SC is one of the best-known Bugatti cars. The "S" stood for "surbaissé" ("lowered"). It included a v-shaped dip at the bottom of the radiator and mesh grilles on either side of the engine compartment.
Lowering the car was a major undertaking. The rear axle now passed through the rear frame rather than riding under it, and a dry-sump lubrication system was required to fit the engine under the new low hood. The 57S had a nearly-independent suspension in front, though Ettore despised that notion.
Just 43 "surbaissé" cars were built.
Just two supercharged Type 57SC cars were built new, but most 57S owners wanted the additional power afforded by the blower. Therefore, most of the original Type 57S cars returned to Molsheim for the installation of a supercharger, pushing output from 175hp (130 kW) to 200hp (150 kW) and 120 mph (190 km/h).
A special Type 57 S45 used a 4,743 cc engine like the Tank.
The Type 57S/SC is one of the best-known Bugatti cars. The "S" stood for "surbaissé" ("lowered"). It included a v-shaped dip at the bottom of the radiator and mesh grilles on either side of the engine compartment.
Lowering the car was a major undertaking. The rear axle now passed through the rear frame rather than riding under it, and a dry-sump lubrication system was required to fit the engine under the new low hood. The 57S had a nearly-independent suspension in front, though Ettore despised that notion.
A special Type 57 S45 used a 4,743 cc engine like the Tank.
The 57S was available in three forms of factory coachwork: a roadster, the Atalante coupe, or the ultra-rare Atlantic coupe (easily among the most coveted and valuable cars on Earth). The latter two coupe styles accounted for approximately 20 examples of the 42 cars that were ultimately sold through May 1938 (when the competition-oriented 57S was quietly discontinued as 57 and 57C road car sales flourished). Many of the remaining 22 examples were sold as rolling chassis and dispatched to the buyer’s coachbuilder of choice, including Gangloff, Corsica, Letourneur et Marchand, and Vanvooren of Paris. Particularly desirable among the various Type 57 iterations, the 57S examples were often maintained and raced in niche events in Europe during the 1950s and ’60s. Now the subject of utmost scrutiny and respect, the model has evolved into one of the collector car community’s golden grails, a legendary automobile epitomizing the finest in competition heritage, aesthetic design, engineering, and performance.
This, however, does not account for the various special T57s, including the numerous coachbuilders across Europe who created one-offs. It also does not account for the Grand Raid roadster, which was essentially a prototype that preceded the famous 57S
