Related Gallery1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante
[Source: AOL]
Bought the Farm: barn-find Bugatti Atalante sells for $4.4M
Posted Feb 8th 2009 12:06PM
CommentsAdd
[Source: AOL]
- You are here:
- Auto News >
- Bought the Farm: barn-find Bugatti Atalante sells for $4.4M
[Source: AOL]
Add a Comment
RX-8 SS
lets see now. strip it and repaint it in a flashier color...gut the interior and redo it in suede and new corinthian leather... dump the old tires and tired wire wheels and and replace them with lo profile modern ones... a small block chevy engine with turbo might fit...retro glass pack muffler... a 2 thousand watt 14 speaker stereo for the trunk space...and raise the back and lower the front end a little, and definitely dump the rear fender skirts for a better look.
seriously though, the old timers got these beauties, and we get "cubes" and Scions, why is it that there are so few new designs such an Alfa 8c competizion. I've always liked this auto design plus the 37/38 Talbot short tails.
VW JUNKY
Reminds me of an Antique road show episode. Some guy spent thousands of dollars on a piece of furniture to take off the old paint and "resort it like new" The appraiser looked at it and said it was a fine job and that you could just catch some of the original paint on it in a few spots. Valued the piece at $15000. IF they had left the original paint on it it would have been worth $50,000! The owner just about had a heart attack! LOL! In this cars case if it were untouched and not a rust bucket they should leave the Patina and just redo the mechanics. The car won't see rain again anyway but to have it near original is to leave as much alone as possible. But of course the owner can do anything they want.
February 09 2009 at 8:39 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Mick
Why is the car so very dusty, yet everything else in the shed is not?
Looks like someone emptied a bag of flour over it.
Scotty B
I suppose if we had spent over 4 million, we could do whatever we wanted with the car...as will this guy.
February 08 2009 at 5:00 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Fooman
The side view and rear view of this car are the most amazing shots in car design. The type 57 drop head that Ralph Lauren has to match his Atlantic coupe is also just as stunning.
February 08 2009 at 2:57 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
art
1 reply to art's comment
i hope they DON'T restore it. this car is a time capsule, it shows the way Ettore built it. wash it, use Q-tips to remove the grime if you have to, but don't repaint it, don't give it a mirror-like Pebble Beach finish. it's a gem the way it is. i own lots of antiques, furniture, not cars, and you can only have the original finish on them ONCE. there is something about looking at the exact paint that someone applied 200 years ago that tickles me. i can't tell you how many people look at my stuff and tell me how good they'd look 'refinished' it's sad more people don't appreciate patina.
leave the car alone.
energystrom
I'd say restore to a certain point. I would definitely not advocate restoring it to a "like-new" condition, but I would clean it up to the point where it is not degenerating further.
February 08 2009 at 2:28 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
AMcA
These days, that car WILL NOT be restored. Original condition is very much the big thing, these days.
Autoblog, whoever is covering classics for you needs to get current on these trends. Start by reading "It's Only Original Once".
ron
1 reply to ron's comment
Leaving it "as is" is most likely the right thing to do, but it would drive me nuts not to restore it to as new/better than new condition! In that regard I'm sorta like MONK on tv - would go insane if it wasn't just perfect!
February 08 2009 at 12:41 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
RX-8 SS
I have to agree, the current advice is to leave them as you find them. BUT the physical components keep deteriorating as they age, it may increase in collector value but it won't improve in condition, that old leather interior will just continue to flake and crack and any rust or corrosion will keep spreading as rubber parts continue to rot. Doing nothing means that even under the best storage conditions it will become undrivable, if it isn't already, which I feel would be an insult to a fine old automobile.
April 14 2009 at 1:14 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Steve Neill
3 replies to Steve Neill's comment
I would never restore that car. I would keep it just the way it is. It shows wear and tear, and it shows that it was used. I think it's meant to be the way it is, and I hate to think of it being stripped and restored to it's original luster...
It would be like tearing off the skin of a beautiful middle aged woman, only to apply young looking skin cause you think she needs it.
This car doesn't deserve that, it deserves to stay the way it is.
Kotse
"...The rare barn find 1937 Type 57S rolled across the Bonhams "Retromobile" auction block in Paris this weekend as scheduled, where it sold to a European collector for the equivalent of $4.4 million..."
"X" marks the spot!
