The Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic is a timeless masterpiece by Jean Bugatti. Throughout its almost 90 years of existence it has captured the imagination of automobile enthusiasts and is considered one of the most valuable and exclusive cars in the world. Many of its design features, including the bolt-on fin that runs along its entire body, inspired Bugatti’s modern aesthetic DNA. But this vehicle has not only been a reference for the design team of the Alsatian firm: a client wanted to recreate and reinterpret this classic jewel in her new hypercar, giving rise to the Chiron Super Sport ’57 One of One’, which pays tribute to the rich Bugatti heritage.
“20 years ago I saw a Type 57 SC Atlantic for the first time. I remember the day like it was yesterday. I visited the Mullin Automobile Museum in Oxnard and there it was, alone, on a pedestal, one of only three examples still left. I, a lifelong car lover, fell in love with it from the moment I saw it.” Two decades later, when her husband – also a Bugatti owner who shares the same passion and dedication for cars as his wife – surprised her on her 70th birthday with a personal invitation from the brand to go to Molsheim to configure her car. own Chiron Super Sport – her dream began to come true.
This particular journey to realize his vision, shared together with Jascha Straub, lead designer of Sur Mesure at Bugatti, has spanned a year. The end result is the perfect combination of bringing together a passionate, bold-thinking client with a highly creative and talented design and engineering team. The color chosen for this vibrant tribute serves as an example; the striking silver-blue hue that was etched in the client’s mind (and the only one she could look at).
But getting exactly the same shade was not an easy task. Straub himself flew to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao – where the original car was located as the centerpiece of the Movement, Cars, Art, Architecture exhibition – with the color sample created to observe the painting under different lighting conditions. It had to be identical to the original to accurately, meticulously and humbly honor the most elegant car ever designed.
