The Type 57S Atlantic body featured flowing coupé lines with a pronounced dorsal seam running from the front to the back end of the vehicle.
It was based on the 1935 Aérolithe concept car designed by Jean Bugatti which was built on a prototype chassis, more specifically, a standard Type 57 chassis shortened to what would eventually become the Type 57S chassis.
Like the Type 59 Grand Prix car, the Aérolithe used Elektron composite for its body panels, known for being a very lightweight and durable material, but also for being extremely flammable when exposed to high temperatures.
Therefore, being unable to weld the body panels, the engineers riveted them externally, a technique frequently used in the aviation industry, thus creating the signature seam.

However, the production Atlantics, just four built, used plain aluminum, but the dorsal seams were retained for style and have led to the car's present fame.
The model was named in honor of Jean Bugatti's friend, French pilot Jean Mermoz, one of the pioneers in aviation and the first to cross the South Atlantic by air.
Unfortunately, in December 1936, he and his crew crashed into the Atlantic Ocean after a supposed engine failure.
Originally, the Atlantic model was named "Coupé Aero" after its predecessor, the Type 57 Aérolithe.
The first two production units already bore that name, but after hearing the tragic news, Jean Bugatti commissioned to change the name of the model to "Atlantic Coupé".

Three of the original four Atlantics are known to survive and each had been restored to its former glory.
Two of them have been honored with "Best of Show" awards at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 1990 and 2003, respectively.

 ● 1935 Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe No.
57331 prototype 
                            
( Chassis No.
57331 / Engine No.
226S / Original Color: "Crème de menthe" / Interior: "Crème de menthe" leather and beige cloth )
Code-named the "Elektron Coupé" or "Competition Coupé" at launch, this Bugatti prototype had a very short existence.
It was finished around July 1935 and only four months later, it made its first public appearance at the Paris Motor Show.
The car was a faithful recreation of Jean Bugatti's stunning "SuperProfile coupé" design, but due to its seemingly bizarre shape, the vehicle has brought attention to a very limited audience, thus there were only four Atlantics built the years after.
A few people, however, had the chance to sit in the vehicle next to Bugatti race driver William Grover-Williams while he offered them a "quick" tour of Paris and were surprised by the vehicle's performance and looks, so they called it "La Aérolithe" after the phrase "Rapide comme une aérolithe" ("Fast as a meteorite"), a name that was later adopted by Bugatti.

A few weeks later, the vehicle was displayed at the British International Motor Show in Olympia, London.
The prototype remained in London until the spring of 1936, being frequently driven and tested by William Grover-Williams.
Beyond this point, historians lose its tracks, but as Bugatti's chief mechanic Robert Aumaître stated a few decades later, the car was, essentially, just a styling concept with no technical interest, thus being transported back to France at the Bugatti factory where it was disassembled for components.

Over the span of five years, from 2008 to 2013, Canadian car restoration team from The Guild of Automotive Restorers, led by David Grainger, had built a 1:1 exact replica of the Type 57 Aérolithe, having only 11 photographs, 2 blueprints and a painting at their disposal from which they gathered all the dimensions of the vehicle.
It was built on the No.
57104 chassis and its body was crafted entirely out of Elektron alloy.

 ● 1936 Bugatti Type 57S(+C) Coupé Aero No.
57374 
( Chassis No.
57374 / Engine No.
25S / Original Color: Metallic gray-blue / Interior: Blue leather ) 
It was completed on 2 September 1936 and sold to Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild.
Painted a metallic gray-blue, No.
57374 was supposedly built using various components from the Aérolithe prototype, the most nota
The Type 57S Atlantic body featured flowing coupé lines with a pronounced dorsal seam running from the front to the back end of the vehicle. It was based on the 1935 Aérolithe concept car designed by Jean Bugatti which was built on a prototype chassis, more specifically, a standard Type 57 chassis shortened to what would eventually become the Type 57S chassis. Like the Type 59 Grand Prix car, the Aérolithe used Elektron composite for its body panels, known for being a very lightweight and durable material, but also for being extremely flammable when exposed to high temperatures. Therefore, being unable to weld the body panels, the engineers riveted them externally, a technique frequently used in the aviation industry, thus creating the signature seam.
However, the production Atlantics, just four built, used plain aluminum, but the dorsal seams were retained for style and have led to the car's present fame. The model was named in honor of Jean Bugatti's friend, French pilot Jean Mermoz, one of the pioneers in aviation and the first to cross the South Atlantic by air. Unfortunately, in December 1936, he and his crew crashed into the Atlantic Ocean after a supposed engine failure. Originally, the Atlantic model was named "Coupé Aero" after its predecessor, the Type 57 Aérolithe. The first two production units already bore that name, but after hearing the tragic news, Jean Bugatti commissioned to change the name of the model to "Atlantic Coupé".
Three of the original four Atlantics are known to survive and each had been restored to its former glory. Two of them have been honored with "Best of Show" awards at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 1990 and 2003, respectively.
 ● 1935 Bugatti Type 57 Aérolithe No. 57331 prototype 
                            
( Chassis No. 57331 / Engine No. 226S / Original Color: "Crème de menthe" / Interior: "Crème de menthe" leather and beige cloth )
Code-named the "Elektron Coupé" or "Competition Coupé" at launch, this Bugatti prototype had a very short existence. It was finished around July 1935 and only four months later, it made its first public appearance at the Paris Motor Show. The car was a faithful recreation of Jean Bugatti's stunning "SuperProfile coupé" design, but due to its seemingly bizarre shape, the vehicle has brought attention to a very limited audience, thus there were only four Atlantics built the years after. A few people, however, had the chance to sit in the vehicle next to Bugatti race driver William Grover-Williams while he offered them a "quick" tour of Paris and were surprised by the vehicle's performance and looks, so they called it "La Aérolithe" after the phrase "Rapide comme une aérolithe" ("Fast as a meteorite"), a name that was later adopted by Bugatti.
A few weeks later, the vehicle was displayed at the British International Motor Show in Olympia, London. The prototype remained in London until the spring of 1936, being frequently driven and tested by William Grover-Williams. Beyond this point, historians lose its tracks, but as Bugatti's chief mechanic Robert Aumaître stated a few decades later, the car was, essentially, just a styling concept with no technical interest, thus being transported back to France at the Bugatti factory where it was disassembled for components.
Over the span of five years, from 2008 to 2013, Canadian car restoration team from The Guild of Automotive Restorers, led by David Grainger, had built a 1:1 exact replica of the Type 57 Aérolithe, having only 11 photographs, 2 blueprints and a painting at their disposal from which they gathered all the dimensions of the vehicle. It was built on the No. 57104 chassis and its body was crafted entirely out of Elektron alloy.
 ● 1936 Bugatti Type 57S(+C) Coupé Aero No. 57374 
( Chassis No. 57374 / Engine No. 25S / Original Color: Metallic gray-blue / Interior: Blue leather ) 
It was completed on 2 September 1936 and sold to Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild. Painted a metallic gray-blue, No. 57374 was supposedly built using various components from the Aérolithe prototype, the most nota
Bugatti Type 57