The Philly Auto Show was great this year. We got to see some of the hottest new industry offerings, and the CF Charities hypercar exhibit was better than ever this year. It’s always a bright spot for us Northeastern car folks in the dead of Winter. Enjoy!
Continue reading Highlights from the 2019 Philadelphia Auto Show
This World Record Edition Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, one of just 5 in existence, surprised everyone when it showed up at Cars and Caffe. This is the second one of these WRE Veyrons I’ve seen in person, here’s the first, so I’ve laid eyes on 40% of them.
Enjoy!
Continue reading Bugatti Veyron Super Sport World Record Edition at Cars and Caffe
I’ve shared some of the Type 57 SC’s I saw at Limerock this year. They were the hypercars of their day, the ultimate of speed and technology. This is a Bugatti Type 57C, the grandest of grand touring cars, similar to a Rolls Royce Dawn or Bentley Continental today. This one is particularly pretty in two-tone blue.
Enjoy the gallery.
Continue reading 1937 Bugatti Type 57C in Two-Tone Blue at Lime Rock
The Bugatti EB110 is a magnificent machine, so far ahead of its time. I mean, back in the early 1990s this thing had a 552hp 3.5L quad-turbo V12 and sent its power to all four wheels. It was capable of 213 mph, which made it arguably the fastest production car on the planet in 1991.
All I know is this thing would absolutely kill at Radwood if the owner was ever inspired to bring it out for that event.
I’ve only seen two of these in person and this one is in much better condition than the other. It was quite a thrill to get to shoot this EB110 up close with NYC in the background at the Driven By Purpose Event in Liberty State Park.
Enjoy the photos!
Viewing the world’s most exotic cars against the Manhatten Skyline, it’s a great premise for a show. That’s why Driven By Purpose chooses to hold this event in Liberty State Park, and it draws quite a turnout.
The show this year had to contend with the threat of rain in the area, but it was only overcast at the show itself. A good number of cars showed up and the quality was extremely high. Much more to come from this event, enjoy the highlights!
Continue reading Highlights from The NYC Harbor Iconic Motorcars Event by Driven by Purpose 2018
This two-tone green 1937 Bugatti Type 57 SC Atalante was only just overshadowed at Lime Rock Park because it was in the presence of the two pinnacle Type 57 SC models, the Atlantic Coupe and the Gangloff Drophead Coupe. Anywhere else it would’ve easily taken best in show.
Only 17 Atalante Coupes were built, and this green one is particularly elegant. Like the Type 57 SC Atlantic I posted recently, this Atalante was also very much a hypercar back in 1937 in the same way the Chiron is today. The modern car may be much faster, but I’d argue the old car wore it better.
Enjoy the photos.
Continue reading 1937 Bugatti Type 57 SC Atalante at Lime Rock Park
Mona Lisa. This 1937 Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic Coupe is literally the Mona Lisa of the automotive world, both in its raw artistic beauty and in its collector status. It is one of just two of the original four Atlantic Coupes known to survive, and if either were to go up for sale the dollar figure could easily be the highest ever seen for an automobile.
This blue Atlantic is owned by the Mullin Museum in California and the other (black) Atlantic is currently owned by fashion mogul, Ralph Lauren. I’ve now had the pleasure of laying my bare eyes on both of them and each occasion has been tremendous for me.
The Type 57 SC Atlantic is such a striking car, as Art Deco as Art Deco gets on four wheels. Its definitive styling trait is its riveted dorsal seams that extend along the entire spine of the car and on each of its fenders. On the Aerolithe show car (on which the Atlantic’s design was based), the riveted dorsal seams were necessary for its construction due to its magnesium body, which couldn’t be welded. All of the Atlantics were aluminum bodied, but they retained the dorsal seams for their unique styling appeal. There is nothing else like it, and mixed with the Atlantic’s elegant curves, it will leave your jaw on the floor every time.
This is very much a “hypercar” circa 1937, in prestige, stunning beauty, unique craftsmanship, and raw speed. In fact, while the Jaguar XK120 was hailed as the fastest production car in the world in 1949 with a top speed of 124mph, these Bugatti Type 57 SCs were said to be capable of cracking 120mph more than a decade earlier. The superchargers took their straight-eight engines up to 200hp, and they only weighed around 2,000lbs. That’s not a bad power-to-weight ratio at all at around 10lbs per horsepower, similar to a Lotus Elise (on paper at least), though with vastly older technology. The point is the Bugatti Type 57 SC in 1937 was very much equal to the Chiron today, and if you’re looking into the history of the hypercar it may be one of the first clear examples you’ll find.
Naturally, early hypercars such as these would have only been owned by the fabulously wealthy and famous, and this Bugatti was no exception. According to sources I’ve seen, its original owner was a member of the prominent Rothschild family in Europe. They always seem to have such great taste in cars.
It was such a thrill to finally see the blue Atlantic Coupe in person. The show at Lime Rock was astonishingly good this year, but it would have been worth the 3-hour ride just to see this car alone. Enjoy the gallery of this unbelievable machine!
Continue reading The Blue Bugatti Type 57 SC Atlantic Coupe at Lime Rock Park
Some shows you will never forget, and our Day in the Park experience this past weekend will surely be one of them. We woke up bright and early to make the 3 hour drive up to Lime Rock Park for the show. The drive is always half the fun of the day with the second half of it consisting of winding country roads. It’s a journey meant for a sports car and what awaits at the destination is always remarkable.
This year we found ourselves in Bugatti heaven. Two of the holy grail Bugattis were in attendance, the Mullin Museum’s Type 57 SC Atlantic and Ralph Lauren’s Type 57 SC Gangloff Drophead Coupe. I mean, these are literally the Mona Lisas of cars (worht untold millions), and they were sitting right there, totally accessible. It was unbelievable!
This was also by far the largest display of vintage Bugattis I’ve ever seen in one place, with around 80 cars present. There were also, of course, many other incredible cars there and it was a fantastic day of automotive entertainment.
Enjoy the highlights!
Continue reading Highlights from our Day in the Park at Lime Rock
The Bugatti Chiron is a beautiful machine, and this blue carbon over red leather example is up there with the best of them. Every time I see a Chiron, I’m always amazed how much they were able to improve on the Veyron in terms of the fine detail work throughout the car. The Chiron is truly a work of art in addition to being (probably) the fastest production car on the planet.
Enjoy!
Continue reading Blue Carbon Bugatti Chiron at the Greenwich Concours
Wait I thought this said “Supercar Show?” Yea well, that did happen too, but we got a bit sucked into the autocross part of the event in our own cars. The weather was VERY borderline, but the rain never quite hit until the afternoon. That kept a lot of people away from the show, and thus, there wasn’t much of a line for autocross runs. So we happily enjoyed run after run. I love looking at cars, especially rare and exotic cars, but it still doesn’t compare to the thrill of actual high-performance driving.
We made the most of the autocross, and then checked out the rest of the show when it was time for the crew to have lunch. We were a little on the late side, but even still the turnout looked pretty thin in the show itself. I think the threat of rain scared a lot of people away.
Even still, I got to see two things I’d never seen before. One was a V12-swapped Toyota FJ40 Rat Rod, and the other was all three modern Bugattis lined up together. Chiron, Veyron and EB 110 together in the most exotic sort of harmony. It was incredible, and they’ll have their own galleries coming soon.
Enjoy this brief preview of the show.
Continue reading Highlights from the 2018 CF Charities Supercar Show
We’ve just returned from a fantastic weekend at the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance. We saw some amazing cars and had a few great drives as well.
There is a lot more to come from this weekend, so stay tuned. Here is a preview gallery to hold you over. Enjoy!
Continue reading Highlight Preview from the 2018 Greenwich Concours
This was the first time modern Bugattis have been on display at the Philadelphia Auto Show, and what a showing it was. A blacked-out Veyron Supersport and a brand new Chiron with the most gorgeous color scheme. It had a blue carbon body with a striking French Blue interior. It was unbelievable!
The Bugattis were on display in the CF Charities booth, accompanied by some of the most exotic cars on the planet. For those interested, you’ll be able to see these cars and more at the CF Charities Supercar Show in June.
Until then, enjoy this gallery!
Mind Over Motor 