The 57453 or “La Voiture Noire” has already become an inspiration for two detective novels: “The Bugatti Affair” by Paul McNabb and “Fatal Pursuit” by Martin Walker. Now, in a real-life research, we may feel some Agatha Christie vibe, as it is probable that the key to finding the lost Bugatti Atlantic (i.e. the 57453/57222/57454 or just “Belg. Coupé”) lies in a list of people who once met in one room. Despite the fact that the lost Atlantic is a French car strongly linked to Belgium, the room is located in the USA.

The list may help with linking two interesting testimonies that we have received. But before I describe these testimonies, I should choose the most probable hypothesis concerning the last years of Mr. Gabriel Duhoux’s ownership of the Atlantic.
What I noticed when I was writing “The mystery of the Garage Métro” article is that all of Mr. Gabriel Duhoux’s garages (that had operated under the Garage Red Star brand) found new managers (or even proprietaries) just before 1958. In the 1958 address book (The Almanac) they are linked to new names:

• the one at rue de Mérode, 278/rue de Serbie, 83 is “Garage Warlotte”,
• the one at rue Josaphat, 150 has become garage “Aux Quatre Rampes”,
• the one at Chaussée d’Alsemberg, 102 is “Etabl. J. Demain”.

The Garage Métro was not affected by this process as it had belonged to Mr. Pierre Joseph Norbert (or just Norbert, according to some documents) Duhoux, not to Mr. Gabriel. Moreover, thanks to Ante’s great work, we know that Mr. Norbert Duhoux actually sold the showroom to Mr. Philippe Henricot in July 1952. Nevertheless, it is likely that the Atlantic was kept in Ets. Henricot-Roomans after that transaction.

Did the Belg. Coupé stay in Ets. Henricot-Roomans?

Why would Mr. Gabriel Duhoux leave the car in the showroom which had been owned by his brother? Such decision might seem odd as at some point of time the Duhoux brothers parted ways. At first, it would be good to be sure that the car has ever been placed in that building. The clues provided by Mrs. Thérèse Goyvaerts’ family member and the description given by a person related to Mr. Philippe Henricot clearly indicate that the showroom at 303-309, Chaussée d’Alsemberg was, most likely, the place where the Atlantic was brought in 1946. Then, there are two breakthrough years- 1949 when the Garage Métro was taken over by Mr. “P. Duhoux” (either Mr. Norbert using his “original” name or, more probably, Mr. Pierre Joseph Duhoux- https://gw.geneanet.org/bois?n=duhoux&oc=7&p=pierre+joseph&type=fiche) and 1952 when Mr. Philippe Henricot bought the showroom.

If “P. Duhoux” really means “Mr. Pierre Joseph Duhoux”, then there is a good argument supporting the hypothesis that the Atlantic stayed in the showroom after the first of these two points in time. Mr. Pierre Joseph Duhoux was the father of a man that would become some kind of Mr. Gabriel’s automotive heir- Mr. François Duhoux. Mr. François, who is remembered as a very kind man in general, developed a good family relationship with Mrs. Thérèse Goyvaerts. Eventually, he received Mr. Gabriel’s Mercedes 220 A convertible, on a condition that he would not drive the car in Brussels as the huge traffic of the city led to many accidents.

So, a working hypothesis that the Atlantic stayed in the Garage Métro until 1952 sounds reasonable, but how about Mr. Henricot’s era? The 1952 marks two transactions which could influence the fate of the 57453/57222/57454 Atlantic: the sale of the Garage Métro by Mr. Norbert Duhoux and the sale of the 57562 Atalante by Mr. Gabriel. The Atalante was sold to Mr. Jean De Dobbeleer with a damaged engine. But was the damage recent? According to testimonies from Braine l’Alleud, the Mercedes became Mr. Gabriel’s everyday car (most probably, replacing the Atalante). It might not have affected the role of the Atlantic very much.

A special car for Mr. Duhoux?

An idea that Mr. Duhoux treated the 57453/57222/57454 as a special car sounds like applying a modern way of thinking to the past. However, the car had a production date of 03.10.1936 and some other due date 31.08.1939. It was lent to the King Leopold III, but could it be the real origin of the nickname “Belg. Coupé”? What if Mr. Gabriel Duhoux had had some influence on the redesign which we know from the 57473? The redesign was, most likely, applied to the 57453/57222/57454 as well.

Although Mr. Lester G. Matthews jr. confuses the 57453 and the 57473, there are some clues in his paragraph about the redesign:

“Another photo of an Atlantic taken circa 1937, still in the hands of the factory, shows it on a test circuit in the Vosges mountains of Alsace, not far from Molsheim, which was used by the Patron for testing of his vehicles.

The black car had low headlights, slightly advanced and the rear fenders had aluminium skirts. (Gaston) Garino explained that (Pierre) Marco told him that Jean had certain changes made to the car in 1938 or 1939: extension of the rear fenders, pontoon style; substitution of louvered ventilation on the sides and top of the hood; the louvers on this example are unique”.

The 57453/57222/57454 had much lower headlights than the 57473. If the narrative should not be split between two cars, then the paragraph can be interpreted as a testimony concerning the modification of the 57453/57222/57454. It plays well with a testimony of Mr. Duhoux’s family member.

Even if the restyling has been applied to both cars (the 57473 and the 57453/57222/57454), the hypothesis that some changes had been suggested by Mr. Duhoux is very hard to prove.

However, there is another reason to believe that the Atlantic had a special meaning to Mr. Duhoux. The car had been lent by the Bugatti factory to the King Leopold III. The fact has been confirmed by Mr. Pierre-Yves Laugier who obtained a document that confirms the return of the car via Automobile Club Alsace on the 22th of June 1939.

This makes another testimony of Mr. Duhoux’s life partner’s family sound more precise.

The car was reportedly sold in late 1950’s. Could it be at the turn of the 1957 and the 1958? It would be perfectly consistent with the first testimony that we have received.

The first testimony: through Antwerp to the USA

We have been participating in Le Vieux Bruxelles Facebook group for some time. Just after my post with a question concerning the Garage Métro, I received a message from a citizen of the Forest municipality. He began the conversation by “J’habite en face du garage Skoda” (I live on the opposite of the Škoda garage). The “garage Škoda” (currently, a supermarket) is, of course, a successor of the Garage Métro.

Then, I asked the Gentleman (Mr. Frédéric) if he could tell me anything about Mr. “P. Duhoux”, the manager of the Garage Métro from 1949 to 1953. He wondered why I am interested in the story of that building:

Then, the magic happened.

Mr. Frédéric informed me that Mr. Louis Deschamps, a mechanic known among Belgian and French Simca fans, had participated in a transport of a Bugatti Atlantic to the USA. I say “a Bugatti Atlantic”, because Mr. Frédéric believed that it could have been the EXK6 (the car that belongs to Ralph Lauren now).

Actually, the 57591/EXK6 scenario is impossible as that car spent these years in Great Britain. However, Mr. Deschamps might have participated in the transport of the 51133 (i.e. the Atlantic-like Dubos Coupé). According to Mr. Frédéric, the Bugatti driven by Mr. Deschamps did have some problems with clutch.

Although the American destination sounded inconsistent with the Duhoux story, I asked Mr. Frédéric if Mr. Deschamps had known anything about the American buyer.

The only additional information that I obtained was that Mr. Deschamps’ boss had flew to Antwerp in a helicopter to arrive first.
Ante learned that Mr. Deschamps could be about 19 or 20 at the time of the transport. It is not very hard to find some more information about the mechanic. Not only is he mentioned (with an address of his garage) by French and Belgian Simca enthusiasts in a thread of the Caradisiac forum (https://forum-auto.caradisiac.com/topic/372972-matra-bagheera/page/5/), but it is also his obituary that can be found on the Internet: https://www.enaos.net/P1220.aspx?IdPer=37701.

If Mr. Deschamps had talked about the 51133 (the Dubos Coupé), he would have told a story from “the fall of 1955 or 1956” (As Mr. Gene Cesari told Mr. Lester G. Matthews jr.).

So, Mr. Deschamps was 16 or 17 at that time. Would it even be legal for him to drive a car? It is hard to say as there are sources informing that Belgium introduced its driving license system in 1967. But there are also mentions of permissions being “automatically” given by the authorities before that date- but only to people over the age of 18.
Even if it had been legal- would Mr. Deschamps’ boss have entrusted rather a valuable car to a 16 or 17 year-old? The boss flew to Antwerp, so Mr. Deschamps might have driven without an assist.

On the other hand, an assumption that Mr. Deschamps worked for Mr. Philippe Henricot would mean that there was some other, direct supervisor who went to Antwerp by a helicopter. Mr. Henricot had survived a plane crash in Gander (http://www.ganderairporthistoricalsociety.org/_html_4658/Sabena_crash.htm). He has come back to Belgium and refused to fly ever since.

(I masked the introduction which reveals the degree of relationship between my interlocutor and Mr. Philippe Henricot).

However, the Gander catastrophe belongs to a longer story of Mr. Philippe Henricot’s links to America. The site of the Sousa Mendes Foundation shows two documents concerning the flight of Mr. Philippe, his mother and his sister accompanied by a nanny to the USA in 1940 (https://sousamendesfoundation.org/family/henricot ).

The mention about a helicopter has two sides. Mr. Philippe Henricot would not use such machine as a passenger (all the more as a pilot), however, he had a pretty good reason to ask his employee to do so. Mr. Henricot’s aunt, Mrs. Marie Henriette “Miette” Noblet (https://gw.geneanet.org/gandbruxelles?lang=fr&pz=henry+herman+edouard+gustave&nz=van+leynseele&p=marie+henriette&n=noblet ) was the first wife of Mr. Gilbert Périer the president of Belgian national airline Sabena (https://www.kaowarsom.be/documents/bbom/Tome_VIIa/Perier.Gilbert_Julien_William.pdf). Mr. Périer seems to have participated in the introduction of helicopters to Belgium. There is a photo of two Sabena executives- Mr. Périer and Mr. Willem Deswarte talking with Igor Sikorsky (https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/fotocollectie/78f42c33-02dc-60f3-cee8-640286d10e12 ).

I talked with some inhabitants of Uccle who had known Mr. Louis Deschamps. They describe him as a great mechanic, whose human side was even more likable.

To sum the chapter up, I think that Mr. Frédéric’s testimony, i.e. “the Deschamps story” may be credible for those reasons:

1. Mr. Frédéric thinking that the Deschamps Atlantic could have been the 57591
   which translates to
2. Mr. Frédéric not seeking fame (he told me the story because I had been asking about Mr. Duhoux and the Garage Métro)
3. The accordance of dates (Mr. Deschamps was 18-19 at the turn of 1957 and 1958)
4. Mr. Deschamps reputation
5. Mr. Henricot being linked to the USA- so the testimony may imply that Mr. Gabriel Duhoux left the car in the showroom (ex-Garage Métro) after the acquisition of the building by Mr. Henricot
6. A strong link between the Henricot family and the aerial industry (Mr. Gilbert Périer)

The second testimony: the Atlantic in Nigeria?

The second testimony is fully accessible to the public. It can be found on the French forum called Caradisiac. A gentleman who uses the nickname “Tunesi” writes that a friend of his father has seen a Bugatti Atlantic in Nigeria.

(the whole thread is available here: https://forum-auto.caradisiac.com/topic/373076-il-%C3%A9tait-une-foisbugatti/page/838/).

Thanks to Ante’s great work, we have been informed about the gentleman’s real name. When we contacted him, we learned that the friend of his father (i.e. the person who had reportedly seen the Atlantic) was Mr. Bernard Pinault (https://crankhandleblog.com/articles/the-splendid-prototype-of-a-t57-gangloff-roadster/, https://waimakclassiccars.co.nz/listings/bugatti-gangloff-type-57-1934/). Mr. Pinault’s encounter with the car might have taken place somewhere in Nigeria.

Mr. “Tunesi” himself is mentioned as an expert and as the source of interesting automotive artifacts by several organizations. Moreover, he has once given a lecture about the Bugatti family. I checked his family tree and the story of his father. Then, I compared the data with the address of Mr. Bernard Pinault provided by Mr. Pierre-Yves Laugier. Mr. “Tunesi’s” father and Bernard Pinault really seem to have been friends.

So, the reasons to count Mr. “Tunesi’s” testimony as credible are:

1. The trustworthiness of Mr. Tunesi as an expert quoted by some important automotive clubs
2. The story of Mr. Tunesi’s family. It is a family of renowned engineers
3. Lack of reasons to question Bernard Pinault’s knowledge of Bugattis
4. The fact that the members of Mr. Henricot’s social circle were involved in Belgian activities in Africa. There might have been a person who was linked to Mr. Henricot or to Mr. Périer and who visited Nigeria.

The luncheon in Hampshire House- the closed circle mystery?

Here is where we reach the list of dramatis personæ of our closed circle mystery. The Deschamps story may mean that Mr. Gabriel Duhoux kept the Atlantic until late 1950s. Such interpretation plays well with the initial statement from his life partner family (given via a notary, visible in a screenshot above). When Mr. Duhoux realized that his illness might be terminal, he found new managers for the facilities of the Garage Red Star and probably decided to sell the Atlantic with a help from Mr. Philippe Henricot.

I consider the testimony about Mr. Louis Deschamps as an argument for the hypothesis that the car stayed in the showroom during the Henricot era and the story of Mr. Philippe Henricot’s life as something that makes the testimony even more credible.
The transport to the USA means that the new proprietary for the Bugatti could have been chosen among people whom Mr. Henricot met during his school years. Either among Americans or among Belgian immigrants. The latter is more probable as a Belgian might have been more likely to take his or her car to Nigeria. Moreover, we have a proof that Mr. Henricot’s mother’s social circle in the USA consisted mostly of immigrants from her home country.

The proof is a list published in “The New York Times” from the 3rd of January 1941 in a kind of social column entitled “Dinner given here by Orson D. Munns”, describing high class events and mentioning names of their guests. One of those events was a luncheon given by Mrs. Suzanne Henricot in the Hampshire House on the 2nd of January of 1941. The information about the guests of the luncheon is summarized in this table:

How the person is mentioned	Most probable name and origins of the person	Country	Exact death date	Lived in the United States around 1958	Links to Africa	Could have visited Nigeria in the 1970s	Other info
Mrs. Suzanne Henricot	Born Suzanne Noblet	Belgium	27 of January 1945 (https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/228120156/suzanne-henricot )	Died in 1945	No known links	No
Mrs. Benjamin Rogers	Mrs. Mary Benjamin Rogers (https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/183865720/mary-rogers )	The USA	21 of September 1956	No	No known links	No
Mrs. Thomas J. Watson	The wife of Mr. Thomas J. Watson. Mr. Watson was the CEO of IBM	The USA	The husband: 19 of June 1956 The wife: 10 of February 1966	Yes	Mr. Thomas J. Watson’s son- Thomas J. Watson jr. was a diplomat He married in 1941 (https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1941/12/16/105411477.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false), therefore it is not his wife who is mentioned among Mrs. Henricot’s guest	His son could have	The son of Mr. and Mrs. Watson was rather too old to make friends with Philippe Henricot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Watson_Jr.
Mrs. Tuckerman Draper	Mrs. Dorothy Tuckerman Draper (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Draper)	The USA	11 of March 1969	Yes	No direct links known. However, Mrs. Tuckerman Draper took inspirations from African culture	No	Hired by Packard to design car interiors in 1952 https://autocatalogarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Packard-Range-1952-USA.pdf
Mrs. Lawrence Oppenheim	Possibly: https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LYFS-ZQL/lawrence-h-oppenheim-1908-1977 or https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/lawrence-h-oppenheim-24-1hlcn8x	The USA	The husband (probably): 10 of November 1977, The wife (probably):1 of October 1999 https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LYFS-ZQL/lawrence-h-oppenheim-1908-1977	Probably yes	Probably yes	Probably yes	Mrs. Lawrence Oppenheim is mentioned in “The Jewish Times” from 13th of May 1948 as chairwoman of arrangements of Temple Israel Parrent-Teachers
Mrs. Charles Janssen	Mrs. Marie-Anne Ernestine Ghislaine Boël, the wife of baron Charles Janssen	Belgium	The husband: 11 June 1986, The wife: 6 of July 1996	Most probably not	Not known	Yes, but it is not very probable	https://gw.geneanet.org/bbdd?lang=en&n=janssen&p=charles+emmanuel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles-Emmanuel_Janssen https://kmska.be/en/masterpiece/baron-janssen
Mrs. Jacques Errera	Mrs. Jacqueline Baumann (https://gw.geneanet.org/arielc1?lang=en&n=baumann&p=jacqueline ) The wife of Mr. Jacques Errera (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Errera_(physicien), who was also linked to the Oppenheim family: https://tracesdefrance.fr/les-architectes-guimard-reunis-par-la-famille-oppenheim-le-cercle-guimard/ )	Belgium	30 of March 1977	No, went back to Belgium in 1945 However, hos son stayed in the USA (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Errera?uselang=fr )	Indirect, via Mr. Robert Hallet: https://www.kaowarsom.be/documents/BOC/BOC1940ann.pdf	Yes, but it is not very probable. Even with the son of the Herrera marriage, who was a contemporary of Mr. Philippe Henricot	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Errera https://www.yerusha-search.eu/viewer/metadata/SAB-0598/
Countess de Bruns	A Countess de Brun? Maybe Elsa de Brun “Nuala”, as the Périer family was strongly linked to artistic circles	UK?/Belgium/Scandinavia	Not known for sure, if we assume that it was Elsa de Brun “Nuala”, then the 5th or the 6th of November 1986	Yes	It depends on the real identity of the person, however, it is not very probable	It depends on the real identity of the person, however, it is not very probable	https://nualasvalentines.com/2015/08/13/the-significance-of-elsa-de-bruns-work/ https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/06/obituaries/elsa-de-brun-is-dead-signed-art-as-nuala.html
Mrs. Robert Hallet	Countess Ghislaine d’Oultremont, the wife of Mr. Robert Hallet	Belgium	Husband: 25th of October 1947 (https://www.kaowarsom.be/documents/bbom/Tome_VI/Hallet.Robert.pdf ) Wife: 1979	No	Yes: https://www.kaowarsom.be/documents/bbom/Tome_VI/Hallet.Robert.pdf	The wife could	About Mr. Robert Hallet: https://gw.geneanet.org/selvejp?n=hallet&oc=&p=robert&type=fiche,https://www.h-france.net/vol11reviews/vol11no252Miller.pdf , https://www.kaowarsom.be/documents/bbom/Tome_VI/Hallet.Robert.pdf
Mrs. Suzanne Silvercruys	Baroness Suzanne Silvercruys (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanne_Silvercruys )	Belgium/the USA	31th of March 1973	Yes	Not very probable	Yes, in early 1970s but it is not very probable	Her second husband: https://www.nytimes.com/1960/11/07/archives/e-f-stevenson-film-expert-dies-excoloner-recorded-yalta-and-teheran.html
Mrs. Louis Orts	Mrs. Madleine Janssen, the wife of Mr. Louis Orts (https://gw.geneanet.org/gounou?lang=fr&pz=auguste&nz=dumont&p=madeleine&n=janssen )	Belgium	12th of February 1985	Was not living in America, but he went to International Coffee Conference in Rio de Janeiro in January 1958	Yes, many strong links	Yes	An administrator of at least 20 colonial companies. He was involved in Compagnie Sucriere Congolaise which provided sugar to Nigeria (!!!) in the era of the Belgian Congo
Countess d’Oultremont	Most probably Michelle Philibert Marie comtesse d’Oultremont (https://man8rove.com/fr/profile/fbwmptxw-michelle-d’oultremont) or the same person as the wife of Mr. Robert Hallet- Ghislaine- https://gw.geneanet.org/selvejp?lang=fr&iz=15&p=ghislaine&n=d+oultremont . The person mentioned in the article could not have been the wife of Mrs. Ghislaine’s brother as he married in 1955.	Belgium	If I identified the person correctly, 6th of February 1977 (https://gw.geneanet.org/jpujolle?lang=fr&pz=jean+baptiste&nz=pujolle&p=michelle+philiberte+marie&n=d+oultremont )	No, seems to have lived in Switzerland since early 1950s: https://institutions.ville-geneve.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/mah/2013/Collections-publications/Publications/Catalogue_2020/1_MAH_OFC_2019_Rapport_final_18_08_20.pdf	It is not well known	Yes	https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/01/20/92069630.html?pageNumber=24
Mrs. Gilbert Périer	Mrs. Marie Henriette “Miette” Noblet, the wife of Mr. Gilbert Périer (his first wife who would die in the Gander crash: https://gw.geneanet.org/gandbruxelles?lang=fr&n=noblet&p=marie+henriette )	Belgiu m	The wife: 18th of September 1946 The husband: 13 of March 1968	The wife died in 1945, as for the husband: no, but he travelled a lot	Yes, strong links: https://www.kaowarsom.be/documents/bbom/Tome_VIIa/Perier.Gilbert_Julien_William.pdf	No	The husband was the president of the SABENA
Miss Margaret Horn	Maybe the lady mentioned here: https://www.nytimes.com/1944/04/02/archives/margaret-horn-will-be.html and here: https://www.ericksonhansenberlin.com/obituaries/margaret-booth (but we are not sure). Another possibility: https://www.msfh.net/obituary/Margaret-Horn	Most probably: The USA	If I identify the person correctly: 13th of March 2014	Most probably: yes	No known person of that name that would be linked to Africa	The most probable answer is: Theoretically, yes	https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1944/04/02/83971809.html?pageNumber=35

Many of these ladies belong to Belgian nobility. I think that the table shows Mr. Louis Orts (a nobleman as well) the as the most probable buyer. There are also some more interesting facts about him. Firstly, he had a not well-known Bugattist in his family. Mr. Gustave Francotte, was a Bugatti owner in 1932 (https://www.sparealites.be/la-villa-le-fagnou).

Mr. Francotte’s wife, Mrs. Nadia Peltzer. was a daughter of Mrs. Aline Orts, an aunt of Mr. Louis. Mrs. Aline was a half-sister of Mr. Louis’ father, Mr. Pierre. Moreover, Mr. Louis’ mother came from another branch of the Peltzer family.
Secondly, a son of Mr. Orts’ sister, Elisabeth, Jean-Louis Ganshof van der Meersch, lived in the USA. That may be another clue to the mystery of Mr. Frédéric’s testimony.
As for the Nigerian story I have received the following mail from a member of Mr. Orts’ family:

It should be remembered that there was a great exodus of Belgians from Congo in 1964. Mr. Louis Orts, who had the experience from about 20 colonial companies, among others in Compagnie
Sucrière Congolaise which provided Congolese sugar to Nigeria, could use this experience in other African countries.
Another thing, indirectly linked to the mail quoted above, is that Mr. Orts had been divorced since 1945. Most information his ex-wife and children is linked to Belgium, while Mr. Orts’ death place is a French town named Yerres. Does it sound like a description of a person that we are looking for?
Was Mr. Orts a man who bought the lost Atlantic from Mr. Gabriel Duhoux?

The reasons to research Mr. Louis Orts’ automotive heritage in the quest for the lost Atlantic:

1. He perfectly fits both the American and the African (Nigerian) story
2. In the newspapers available via Belgicapress I found at least two lists of participants of Africa-related meetings mentioning Mr. Orts alongside Mr. Gilbert Périer. A strong family link allows us to say Mr. Gilbert Périer means “the Henricot family”. Both Mr. Orts and Mr. Périer received a legal education. They might have been good friends.
3. He seems to be a mysterious person whose heritage is not well known to members of his own family
4. If we assume that Mr. Gabriel Duhoux knew that the car had been used by the King Leopold III, then a sale to a Belgian nobleman seems to be a natural choice
5. Mr. Orts had a cousin whose husband owned an early Bugatti (around 1932). The husband, Mr. Gustave Francotte is not well known to Bugatti experts.

Here, I would like to ask people who are linked to:

• Mr. Louis Orts
• Association Champ de repos de la famille Orts
• the community of Fauvillers (as Mr. Orts is buried in Tintange)
• Jean-Louis Ganshof van der Meersch ( 1924-1982)- as Mr. Jean-Louis was a son of Mr. Otrs’ sister
• the Francotte-Peltzer family

to help me either confirm or falsify my hypothesis.

Even the photos or documents concerning the car that we are looking for, the lost Bugatti Atlantic, would be precious for museums like Autoworld (https://www.autoworld.be/fr/) or Musée national de l’Automobile Collection Schlumpf (https://www.musee-automobile.fr/).
There are reasons for both: the Atlantic was once lent by the Bugatti factory to the King Leopold III (a fact already mentioned, well-documented by Mr. Pierre-Yves Laugier), but it is also considered a treasure of the French automotive culture. It is even suggested that it should be sought after by the French Task Force which looks for goods stolen by the nazis (https://news.artnet.com/art-world/france-research-restitution-nazi-looted-art-1504219, https://www.thedrive.com/news/27693/100-million-lost-bugatti-atlantic-coupe-is-a-collectors-treasure-hunt).

I do not want any reward from the owners of the souvenirs of from the owners of the car itself. All I want is the discovery.

To be continued…

Andrzej Szczodrak

Many thanks to:

• Uwe, Ante and Valentin
• Mr. Frédéric
• Mr. “Tunesi”
• Professor Guy Vanthemsche
• The Henricot- Périer family
• The Goyvaerts family
• The member of the Orts family
• The Greindl family, especially Baron Renaud Greindl
• The inhabitants of Uccle and Drogenbos, especially to Mrs. Jessica and to Dr. André
• The inhabitants of Linkebeek
• Mrs. Danielle Hoslet who introduced me to the Almanac
• Mrs. Françoise Quatrus
• Mr. Paul Grant
• The inhabitants of Braine-l’Alleud, especially to the members of the group “Braine-l’Alleud d’hier à aujourd’hui”
• The members of the groups : “Le Vieux Bruxelles”, “Le vieux Bxl“, “Anderlechtensia”, “FOREST, de hier, d’aujourd’hui et de demain !”, “I Love Forest – I Love Vorst”, “UCCLE FOREST histoire”

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