BUGATTI TYPE 57

Ventoux 1936
 2
The Ventoux Vogue
Jean Bugatti fully embodied the Bugatti
family’s artful ways. His instinct for
trend-setting
style was fully realized in the six designs he
HISTORIC PROFILE
created for the Type 57.
The Type 57 was one of the truly great
Bugatti models—and the most prolific.
During its six years of production, seven
hundred Type 57 and 57S chassis were
built in six different touring model styles:
Aravis, Atalante, Atlantic, Galibier, Stelvio
and Ventoux.
 
Chassis 57377 came to the Mullin
Automotive Museum as part of the
Schlumpf Reserve Collection—a Jean
Bugatti initially designed the styles,
although individual coachbuilders later
added their unique touches. Chassis
57377’s style, Ventoux, was named for
Mont Ventoux, the barren peak that
dominates the horizon of Provence,
France. It was produced as a two-door,
four-seat coupé, with the option of either
one or two side windows. In the second
series of Ventoux bodies, some had trunks
that were integrated into the cabin
design, giving the model an uninterrupted
 3

flow from hood to trunk.

 
group of sixty-two unrestored cars
previously owned by French textile giant
Fritz Schlumpf. Among these cars were a
remarkable group of Type 57 Ventoux and
Galibiers. The addition of Ventoux and
Galibier styles to the Mullin Museum’s
collection of Aravis, Atalante, Atlantic,
and Grand Prix Type 57 models has made
the museum one of the few institutions to
possess such a wide array of Type 57 body
styles.
HISTORIC PROFILE
 4

 
Chassis 57377 was delivered to its first
owner, Mr.
D. Saint, on February 28, 1936, most likely
in exchange for another car. Almost no
other details of the car’s early history are
known. The only clue is that at some point,
the initials K. W. were written on the car’s
doors, but no documentation of this owner
exists. Subsequently, the Type 57 was
purchased by American collector John
Shakespeare, who sold it to French textile
magnate Fritz Schlumpf in 1964. The
French government confiscated
Schlumpf’s entire collection in 1977. After
twenty-two years, sixty-two of the cars
were returned to Fritz Schlumpf’s widow,
Arlette, and remaining family in what is
OWNER HISTORY

referred to as the Schlumpf Reserve

Collection. Peter Mullin purchased this car
from the collection in 2008.
 5

PROFILE
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Coachbuilder Factory
Chassis number 57377
Profile type Touring
Body type Coupé
Production span 1934-1940
Acceleration 0
Top Speed 195
 6
BODY | CHASSIS

Body Ventoux
Front brakes type Hydraulic
Rear brakes type Hydraulic
Front suspension type Solid axle with semielliptical leaf
springs and telescopic shocks
Rear suspension type Live axle with reversed
quarter-elliptical leaf springs and
telescopic shock absorbers
Length 16' 6"
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Height (Ground line to highest roof) 5' 3"

Width 5' 9"
Wheelbase 3.3 m
Front tracks measurements 1.35 m
Rear tracks measurements 1.35 m
 7
ENGINE

Engine number 278

Type Inline
Number of cylinders 8
Bore x stroke 72 mm x 100 mm
Displacement 3257
Distribution Double-overhead camshaft
BHP at 5000 RPM 135
Gearbox Manual
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Number of gears 4
Overdrive 0
8
 © Mullin Automotive Museum
All photographs courtesy of Michael Furman