Sunday, April 6, 2025

Rare Bugatti stood still for 50 years – found in 89-year-old's possession

In its time, only 17 Bugatti Type 57S Atlante Coupes were built. One of them with an 89-year-old after many years of rumours. Now it has been sold for several million kroner.

The Bugatti Type 57S Atlante Coupe is one of the world's rarest cars.

In the brand's prime, between 1909 and Ettore Bugatti's death in 1947, only 7,900 cars were built in the founder's name.

Today, it is estimated that there are only around 2,000 cars left. One of them is this black Bugatti Type 57S Atlante Coupe, which auction house Bonhams had under the hammer in 2009.

The car was found in the estate of Harold Carr, who was 89 years old. In his garage, Harold Carr hid everything. Right from his medicine and a sea of receipts to this Bugatti.

READ ALSO: Marius lost 55,000 kroner – "My car is too new"

The rumor that he had the car parked had been buzzing for several years. But it was only when the family emptied the estate that it was finally confirmed.

The Daily Mail wrote that at the time.

– It was a bit of a local rumor that he had a Bugatti. But no one knew for sure. It's worth so much because he hasn't used it in 50 years. It was one of the original supercars, says a colleague to Harold Carr, according to the newspaper.

The car turns out – in addition to its rarity – to hide an interesting history. It was first owned by Earl Howe, the first president of the British Racing Club. Later it was bought by Harold Carr, who thus hid the Bugatti away.

The auction house said at the time in 2009 that the Bugatti's 3.3-liter V8 engine had not failed in the slightest and that the body had been free of rust. For the same reason, the car was sold for an outrageous sum.

An anonymous but European collector ended up paying 5.5 million dollars for the car in February 2009. This corresponds to 38.4 million Danish kroner today.

And although it is a lot of money, it can easily be much more expensive with the original Bugattis. "La Voiture Noire", which was the second example of the Atlantic model that Bugatti built.

That car has not been seen in public since February 1941, when it was registered in Bordeaux, France, with the license plate "1244 W5". Since then, no one has heard or seen anything about the car, which is believed to be worth upwards of 100 million dollars today.

Read more exciting news from and about the world of cars right here

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