Category:Bugatti Type 57S Roadster Replica

The original Bugatti Type 57S, chassis #57385 was presented at the 1936 Paris Motor Show. This sports model was the work of Jean Bugatti who had designed the tuned dry sump engine, the lowered chassis and the spectacular roadster body. It sported deeply skirted cycle type front fenders and became known as the Antibes after its light green colour. This car was the sole Type 57S built with a factory roadster body.^[1]

The car was purchased by Gerard Constantin but it is called the Derain Bugatti after its second owner, French artist André Derain. The car remained in M. Derain’s possession for 14 years. M. Derain replaced the front fenders with more conventional, practical ones. In 1952, the car was sold to Henri Faure who had Jean Bugatti’s original body replaced by a more contemporary body in the Italian barchetta style.^[2]

By the end of the 1950s, the car was stolen in Paris. It was never recovered and has been written off as scrapped.^[3]

Erik Koux, well-known builder of Type 57S Atlantic replicas has built a recreation of the car in its Derain form with conventional fenders. There is also a replica of the original Paris show car on display at the Museum Autovision in Altussheim, Germany.^[4]

1. ↑ Barrie Price Bugatti 57: The Last French Bugatti ISBN: 9781901295665.
2. ↑ surbaisse.com
3. ↑ coachbuild.com/forum
4. ↑ museum-autovision.de