1935 Bugatti type 57S Aérolithe Coupé

By the 1930s it had become clear to Ettore Bugatti's son Jean, that their range of road cars had to change. Jean both understood and admired the concepts embodied in the Art Deco movement and set about designing the future of Bugatti automobiles.

The Type 57S Aérolithe Coupé Special was first shown to an amazed public at the 1935 Paris Auto Salon. The car was very much a prototype and broke a lot of new ground, both in styling and in technology. The two seat coupé was constructed from a new material called Elektron, an ultra light, strong metal more commonly used in aircraft construction. Being an alloy which was over 90% magnesium, the metal was very difficult to work and could not be welded.

Bugatti's solution was to rivet the body and wings together, instead of welding, which gave rise to the innovative and characteristic riveted spines along the roof of the main body and wings - a design feature which was carried over into the production versions - the type 57SC Atlantics.

This print can be supplied in square or landscape formats in the sizes indicated below, although I would recommend the landscape version as shown..

Small - 30 x 30cm / 30 x 40cm

Medium - 40 x 40cm / 40 x 50cm

Large - 50 x 50cm / 50 x 70cm