An extremely rare and vintage 1936 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic has now become the world’s most expensive car, as the vehicle was sold for nearly $40 million to the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California by the caretaker of the estate of the avid car collector, Dr. Peter D. Williamson. This sale of the vintage Bugatti,, even surpasses the 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, that was sold at an auction in the year 2009 for $12.2 million.
The auction of the 1936 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic had been planned in the pipeline for some time and the sale is known have been mediated by a Californian auction house, known as Gooding & Company. However, the progress of the transaction was very well kept hidden from the general public, that in itself isn’t a surprise, as in many cases both the buyer and the seller remain relatively anonymous. The 57SC Atlantic was for quite some time been regarded as the most desirable classic automobile in the world and since the demise of Dr. Williamson, there were intense speculations in regards to the sale of the automobile.
Dr. Williamson was a well renowned and highly respectable neurologist and expert in epilepsy, who was also widely famous for his love of automobiles and his incredible collection of Bugatti band cars, of which some of the were auctioned off by Gooding & Company Pebble Beach, California. Even with the sale of numerous vintage Bugatti vehicles, not even their combined sales of $15 million were able to compete with a single auction of the 1936 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic.
According to David Gooding (President, Gooding & Company),
“I am extremely pleased to have found the new buyer for the 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, one of the world’s most significant and valuable automobiles that has been in a private collection and rarely seen during the past four decades. It has been a great pleasure to work with the Williamson Family and Trust in this important endeavor.”
