Tag Archives: 57453

The 57453 destroyed in Bordeaux? Forget that fiction

by / The 57453 destroyed in Bordeaux? Forget that fiction

Almost every Bugatti enthusiast knew that the last known trace of the lost Aéro Coupé was the list of the “automotive goods” (“Materiel Automobile”) dated 18th February 1941. The document refers to the Bordeaux storage (therefore I call it “The Bordeaux List”), but the actual meaning of its date has been a subject to various hypotheses. Mr. Pierre Yves Laugier’s statements are a bit ambiguous. This ambiguity should not be considered as a fault of the great historian, who has proven the existence of the fourth Atlantic. It just means that Mr. Laugier doesn’t confuse hypotheses with facts. That is why he writes about “trace lost in 1941 in Bordeaux” where La Voiture Noire “appears on a list of automotive goods sent [not “delivered”, but “sent”- note by A.S.] from Molsheim to the Bugatti works on boulevard Alfred-Daney, Bordeaux”. Bordeaux is the last place associated with the Black Aéro but no official proof is known that the car really got there.

Therefore, Mr. Laugier’s statements are being read both ways. Some believe that “the 57453” (well, at that time it was 57454) actually got to Bordeaux
(I have seen a comment claiming that a proof of this exists- https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2019/02/26/the-114-million-barn-find-that-has-yet-to-be-found#comment-10624250) where it was probably destroyed. Others say that it has never reached this destination.

There is a very interesting comment under the Hemmings’ article about the Black Aéro. “FA_92″ (https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2019/02/26/the-114-million-barn-find-that-has-yet-to-be-found#comment-10658963) states that according to his or her sources “the actual relocation of the Bugatti (machinery and the cars belonging to the factory) occured between the official onset of WW2, 3. September 1939. and January 1940” and that the information may “be found in French Ministry of Air war records” from that time. Then the mentioned user says that “The part of the Bordeaux, where the storage was located, was also bombed by RAF of Britain, by the end of 1940.
So, anything that was shipped to Bordeaux after that date or later in 1941. would be a very confusing and irational decision. Maybe the document counts the cars kept in storage, that have survived the bombing and looting… “. Many sources mention such bombing. However, there are reasons to believe that it’s a repeated mistake (like “rue Alfred Danat” instead of “boulevard Alfred Daney”) and the damaged factory was actually the one in Molsheim (on the other hand, this site: http://www.ajpn.org/commune-Molsheim-en-1939-1945-67300.html?fbclid=IwAR1HnPEAuFzZIDkpVfyMexHCdTmvjEKV8gJPF72ljdldZm8OHKY4sJI2WIM contains no info about a bombing in 1940). Now is a time for one more “thank you” to Uwe Zummach who informed me about a photo of damaged works. The photo shows a signboard with the inscription “Trippelwerke”. This points at Molsheim. Therefore, I contacted the Municipal Archives in Bordeaux, getting the following response:

So, the workshop is not mentioned on the lists of buildings damaged during the World War II. A fun fact is that I received the message on the 83rd birthday of La Voiture Noire, on 3rd of October 2019. I shared it with several people and planned a bigger article about the case. Then, I received some more information. I fully understood it just recently, thanks to Mr. Ante Furač. The answer from Bordeaux is only a prelude to the news which I will share in the next entry about the most famous “lost” car in the world.

Andrzej Szczodrak

The “Belg. Coupé”- an underrated name of the most precious Bugatti

by / The “Belg. Coupé”- an underrated name of the most precious Bugatti


(photos: M_93– Veyron, Sfoskett~commonswiki– Atlantic)

We know her initial number- 57453, we know that she was nicknamed “La Voiture Noire”. Sometimes we even call her “la voiture de Monsieur Jean”, although this expression has also been used for the Type 55 and for the sole preserved example of Type 64.

However, we often fail to realize that the Aéro Coupé which carried the chassis numbers 57453, 57222 and 57454 has been mentioned, three times, in the Bugatti factory documents as the “Belg. Coupé”. The authors of “The Bugatti Type 57S” book, Dr. Bernhard Simon and Mr. Julius Kruta suggest that the name, linked with the chassis number 57454, actually refers to the Type 64. However, Mr. Pierre-Yves Laugier, who found a mention about the “Belg. Coupé” in a document from the 1939, sees it as another name of the missing Aéro Coupé/Atlantic.

I discussed it with a great collector of Bugatti books and photographs, Mr. Uwe Zummach, who deserves the name of Heinrich Schliemann of the Molsheim car world. We came to a conclusion that the Aéro Coupé/Atlantic scenario is much more probable. Mr. Laugier’s quotes a mention about “57454 moteur 2SC… BELG”. The engine number “2SC” is the one that appears alongside the chassis number “57453” in the famous
“57 Aero Coupe / 2SC. 3/10. 57453. Black. Cloth interior. No. 602, Leather, P.C.S..”
line noticed by Mr. Laugier in factory documents from 1936.

A workshop notebook from 1936, called “Carnet no. 4”, is quoted by Mr. Simon and Mr. Kruta, on page 68 of their book. The expression “Belg. Coupé” is placed above the name “Alb. Prejean” (Albert Préjean), in a column that contains buyers’ names. Mr. Uwe Zummach points out that even Mr. Simon and Mr. Kruta state that the table containing a row about the “Belg. Coupé” appears “under type 57”.

On page 67 Mr. Simon and Mr. Kruta reveal that the “Belg. Coupé” was probably meant for “Mr. Gabriele Duhoux”. While the spelling “Gabriele” is a result of a mistake, it’s easy to identify the person.

Mr. Gabriel Duhoux was an architect, the founder of Le Berger Hotel in Brussels, the owner of a Bugatti Atalante with the chassis number 57562 (http://www.automobileweb.net/index.php?page=type57satalante) and a Monte Carlo Rally racer.
The family of Mr. Duhoux’s life partner has informed the historian Isabelle Léonard that:

“Mr. Duhoux had enough money to participate in the Monte Carlo Rally in one of his Bugattis” (https://www.humo.be/humo-archief/268816/het-leven-zoals-het-was-rendez-voushotel).

However, the records contain only his starts in a Dodge and in a Chrysler
(https://www.ewrc-results.com/profile/139696-g-duhoux/).
Bugatti didn’t achieve a big success in the Monte Carlo Rally, while their arch rivals Delahaye eventually won in 1937 and in 1939.

If Mr. Duhoux had been an ordinary client, his name would have been noted in the factory documents in place of the “Belg. Coupé” expression.

Well, it’s known that in motor sports “the contestant” and “the driver” are not obviously the same thing. So … what if the “lost Atlantic”, reportedly a car with some racing history (with Robert Benoist behind the wheel), was meant to compete in the Monte Carlo Rally? Maybe even under the auspices of Ettore Bugatti’s friend, King Leopold III.

I keep on researching the Duhoux story, so please stay tuned.

For now, I would like to recommend you a very interesting offer by Bugatti and Cité de l’Automobile. It’s called “My Veyron Experience”. The entrants may choose from two options:

  • Émotion (1 h 50 Min with Veyron, cost: 4 990,00 €)
  • Rien N’est Trop Beau (9 h, 11 900,00 €)

The event will last from the 1st of July to to the 3rd of November and is open just for 110 participants (because Bugatti celebrates its 110th anniversary). The registration (here: https://www.myclassicautomobile.com/experiences?lang=en) ends on the 31st of May, so there is little time left.