The mystery behind the missing Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic Coupe is well documented.

Only four were ever produced in the 1930s and one went missing at the onset of the Second World War. To this day, it is unknown if the car still exists somewhere or not.

Should the missing Atlantic ever be found again, if it exists, automotive experts expect it to be the most valuable car in the world, with an expected value of no less than 100 million euros ($164 million Canadian).

History of Type 57 SC Atlantic

Before we look at who the original four Atlantic owners were, let’s take a look at the Type 57’s history.

The Type 57 was the creation of Jean Bugatti, the son of company founder Ettore Bugatti.

Around 1930, Jean took over running the company and began experimenting with the company’s model policy. He came up with the idea of developing one base model and deriving several variants of it, instead of creating several different Bugatti models, according to Bugatti Automobiles.

The Type 57 was intended to be both a production car and racing car that would spawn multiple versions.

The company built about 800 Type 57s in a variety of body styles and with various engines through the 1930s right up to around 1940. There was a four-door saloon, two-door saloon, a convertible, and, of course, the Atlantic Coupe, of which only four were produced.

The coupe was based around a pair of Bugatti prototypes, which used a special aviation alloy called Elektron, which was made up of 90 per cent magnesium and 10 per cent aluminum.

The alloy was light and strong, but difficult to work with as it could not be welded.

Instead of welding, the car’s body parts were riveted together.

While the production Atlantic cars used aluminum, the company kept the rivets on the dorsal seam, something that was a design choice.

The car was powered by a 3.3-litre straight-eight engine with as much as 200 PS (197 hp) and could exceed 200 km/h.

The car’s Atlantic name was in honour of Jean Bugatti’s friend, Jean Mermoz, the first aviator to cross the South Atlantic by air. The French pilot attempted the South Atlantic crossing again in 1936, but he and his crew didn’t make it. The plane and crew were never seen again.

Who were the original four owners?

Bugatti made four Atlantics but sold just three.

Car 1

The first one, known with the chassis No. 57 374, was sold in 1936 to British industrialist Victor Rothschild, the 3rd Baron Rothschild.

This car was sold to Rothschild without a supercharger and was delivered in a grey-blue colour. Rothschild is said to have later brought the car back to Bugatti to get the supercharger installed.

The car today is known as the Rothschild Atlantic.

It had been displayed at the Mullin Automotive Museum in California, but the museum closed permanently in 2024.

Car 3

We’re skipping past the second car for now (that’s the missing one) to look at the third one.

The third Atlantic, chassis No. 57 473, was also sold in 1936, and went to France’s Jacques Holzschuh.

This car later came into the ownership of a collector who was in the car with a female companion when the car was hit by a train in a French countryside. The collector and the lady friend both died and the car was completely destroyed.

This car was later painstakingly restored, through a years-long process, but without the original engine and a few other parts. Another website delves into the car’s restoration more deeply, which you can read here.

Car 4

The fourth car, chassis No. 57 591, was sold in 1938 to British collector R.B. Pope.

Ralph Lauren is said to be the current owner of this car, now known as the Pope Atlantic.

The above three are the Atlantics that are known to exist today.

Car 2

The elusive Atlantic, the second one to be built, was never sold to a customer. Jean Bugatti kept it for himself.

Bugatti Automobiles said only he and a few select friends, predominantly Bugatti racing drivers, drove this car.

The car, with the chassis No. 57 453, was called La Voiture Noire, or the black car in English.

All trace of this car disappeared after 1938.

There are several theories of what happened to the car, but the two commonly shared guesses are that either Jean sold the car to a friend, which doesn’t really explain its disappearance, or that Jean hid the car in a safer area of France when the Germans invaded Alsace, the area of France where Bugatti is based. Jean died in a car crash in 1939, so if he had kept the car’s location a secret, then the secret would have died with him.

Who cares about a car almost 100 years old?

The Bugatti brand takes pride in its creations.

The Type 57 Atlantic was a showcase of elegance, sportiness, luxury and rarity, which Bugatti Automobiles says are epithets that survive within the company to this day.

Bugatti Automobiles said it applies the same ideals to the creation of its newest car, the Tourbillon, which includes learnings from recent predecessors, Veyron and Chiron, and inspiration from the company’s history, including the Type 57 Atlantic.

“By submerging the engine below and behind the front axle, the hood, driver and roof could be lowered, maximizing aerodynamic efficiency. It was unlike any other car of the time,” said Frank Heyl, Bugatti design director, in a news release comparing the Atlantic with the company’s latest creation.

“And that same philosophy has been applied to the Tourbillon. With the Tourbillon, it’s purpose is to combine elegance with speed.”

The company delves into the creation of the Tourbillon in a miniseries.

The latest episode, titled “A New Era,” as well previous ones, are available on Bugatti’s YouTube channel.

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