Summary

Chassis No. 57406. Powered by a 3257cc 8-cylinder engine paired with a 4-speed manual transmission. From the Don Williams Collection.

Details

In the world of East Coast automobile collecting, especially in Florida, few people stood as tall for as long as the late Alexander E. Ulmann. His name is synonymous with Sebring, the first American automotive endurance race, which he established in December 1950, as well as with early efforts to establish the U.S. Grand Prix. However, his efforts in early U.S. automobile enthusiasm were not strictly limited to being a track-day impresario. Raised around Russia's hydroelectric power plants and possessor of a master's from MIT, his business success in the burgeoning aeronautic and aerospace industries funded collecting that was as diverse as his life. Mercedes of 1908 and 1914 occupied the Ulmann garage, as did the famed marque Hispano-Suiza; but of his many automotive passions, few were as warm or as long-lasting as that for this Bugatti Type 57, Chassis No. 57406. According to Bugatti historian Kees Jansen, Ulmann's Type 57 was built in April 1936; its body was, and remains, a four-passenger Stelvio, the attractive Jean Bugatti-designed cabriolet with its distinctive pontoon fenders and Atalante-like rounded tail. Typical of Bugatti, the Stelvio's design evolved during Type 57 production. In 1935-36, the Stelvio sported a folding windshield and a top that would fold nearly flat and out-of-sight into a 'cut-out' provided for it at the rear of the body. The result was streamlined, attractive and sporting. It was an automobile that just seemed to have been designed to show off. Bugatti agreed, and sent Chassis 57406 to the Nantes Fair, an international trade exhibition for everything from farm equipment to sports cars, which still exists today. On August 8, 1936, the car was sold to its original owner, R. Petit. Subsequently, the car made its way into the ownership of a Mr. Ferrand, by which time it had been upgraded with the later-style headlamps integrated into the front fenders, as well as spats over the rear wheels. Period photographs from the 1940s show the car already fitted with these features, which in their design and construction seem very professional and true to later 1937-39 Bugattis. In addition, the car was also fitted with the front 'moustache' bumpers, as well as Lockheed hydraulic brakes, which were a common upgrade to earlier cable-brake cars. All of this indicates that these modifications were either done by the factory or by a Bugatti agent. The Bugatti was sold by Ferrand to Jacques Dufilho, then a well-known actor living in the Latin Quarter of Paris. Additional very charming photographs on file depict the car during Dufilho's long-term ownership, with members of his family enjoying its good company. It was this last French owner who would sell the car, in 1974, to Alec Ulmann, in whose collection it would be maintained for the rest of the great sportsman's life. Ulmann drove the car without the rear fender spats and refinished it in light blue and black. The American Bugatti Registers by Andy Rheault and Sandy Leith note continued ownership by Ulmann until his passing in 1986. The Bugatti was then sold in 1988, to the Blackhawk Collection, where the Bugatti was restored to its present appearance, updating its Ulmann two-tone royal blue and black 'sweep panel' livery while fitting pale gray leather upholstery as a breathtaking contrast and reinstalling the 'spats' on the rear wheels. The wire wheels were chromed, as had been available from Bugatti in 1937. It retains its original engine, No. 286, and the transmission (No. 68C, from a supercharged Stelvio), as well as its original rear axle No. 427; the internal frame number is 50. The dashboard carries what appear to be the original gauges, except for a new Jaeger tachometer (undoubtedly useful in spirited driving). The odometer records 1,171 kilometers (728 miles), which is the distance traveled since the restoration. From the Don Williams Collection.