Description
The Aerolithe is the Bugatti that never existed, or at least for a very short time. However, the Aerolithe evolved into one of Bugatti's most legendary coupés, the Atlantic.
The Aerolithe was designed by Jean Bugatti, son of Ettore Bugatti, and presented at the Paris and London motor shows in October 1935. According to the story, the body was dismantled shortly afterwards and some parts of the Aerolithe were used for the first Atlantic, as ordered by Lord Rothschild in 1936.
In the early 2000s, this magnificent tribute to the Aerolithe was orchestrated and built in Germany using chassis 57645 as a base. Clearly a labour of love, the project involved many skilled craftsmen working their magic to create the all-alloy bodywork. The basis of the project is chassis 57645 which was initially delivered as a T57 cabriolet with bodywork by Letourneur & Marchand. Later, in 1954, Ch. 57645 was sold to Jacques Brown, a French sculptor, who replaced the original bodywork with a streamlined design of his own. One of two aerodynamic bodies designed by Jacques Brown, both exhibited at the 1955 Salon de l'Automobile, but neither sold.
The Jacques Brown body was subsequently withdrawn from Ch. 57645 and is now on display at the Autoworld Museum in Belgium.
Fast forward many years to July 2004, when work began on the Aerolithe project, based on the partially restored chassis 57 645.
Numerous modifications were made to achieve the correct details, including shortening the length of the chassis and moving the engine, firewall and radiator back 105 mm. The all-alloy body was carefully designed by 'Karroseriebau Eckhardt Melchior' in Germany, then assembled using some 1200 rivets to join the body parts together.
As very little is known about the Aerolithe's original interior, it was built with a mottled alloy dashboard as a nod to the GP cars of the time and with chrome rails and leather-covered seats as in the Atlantic.
The completely rebuilt engine is said to come from a T57S and is fitted with a Stromberg UUR-2 carburettor to factory specification. With a capacity of 3. 3 litres, the twin overhead cam in-line eight-cylinder engine develops around 175 bhp, more than enough to propel this wonderful Bugatti to modern motorway speeds and beyond.
The Aerolithe was completed in the spring of 2006 and has competed in numerous rallies and shows over the years.
In 2019, the car was purchased by a car collector in Denmark, intrigued by the history and craftsmanship of the Aerolithe project. Since then, the T57 Aerolithe has been used occasionally and always enthusiastically by the current owner and has benefited from regular servicing and maintenance with its in-house mechanic.
The rear wheel gaiters are with the car but are not currently fitted.
The Bugatti comes with a current British V5 and is ready to be enjoyed on the road.
For EU registration, the car will be exempt from EU import tax as it was resident in the EU prior to Brexit.
