An open Bugatti Type 57С coachbuilt by Gangloff of Colmar will cross the auction block at the end of the month. It is believed to be one of only two roadsters in existence with such body design and a supercharged engine under the hood. The selling estimates hover around U.S. 2.5–3.5 million.
Even just the fact that the car packs a 3.3-liter supercharged eight-cylinder engine makes it exceedingly rare. Out of 710 Type 57C cars ever made, only 96 were blown.
The company sold the model as a bare chassis and let clients either pick a body style from the catalog or bring it to a third party. Only two coachbuilders, Gangloff and Letourneur et Marchand, produced Art Deco bodies for these cars – and only in small quantities.
The Grand Tourer heading to the auction this month was assembled in 1938 with assistance from Gangloff for Maurice Trintignant, a French racecar driver. Trintignant is famous for winning multiple prestigious races, including the Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Aside from competing for the Bugatti team, he was also part of Ferrari and Aston Martin teams throughout the years.
Trintignant kept the roadster until 1947. It then proceeded to change hands multiple times and wound up with numerous aftermarket mods. In the early 2000s, when collectors Peter and Merle Mullin purchased it for their collection, it went straight to a complete restoration. It took longer than a year to restore the chassis, the body, the cabin and the drivetrain to their original factory condition.