This is the mysterious, and wildly rare 1952 Bugatti Type 57 ‘Brown’ by a French sculptor named Jacques Brown. In the early 1950’s Brown created two special vehicles using polyester bodywork on the basis of two pre-war Type 57 Bugatti chassis, #57645 and #57723). The Bugatti Type 57 was an entirely new design that was created by Jean Bugatti, the son of the founder, Ettore Bugatti, and in total, it’s said that just around 710 total examples of the Type 57S were developed for the entire world across a myriad of different variants from 1934 until 1940. Although there were many one-offs, and sub-variants, there were really only two main variations of the Bugatti Type 57 model, the original Type 57, and the lowered Type 57S/SC. While two examples were developed, this car shown here, which is located at the @autoworld_brussels Museum, was built upon the chassis of a 1938 Bugatti T57S, although, this has reportedly been replaced sometime in the 1980’s with a VW floorpan. Brown unveiled the ‘Bugatti Brown’ at the 1955 Salon de l'Automobile de Paris hoping to gain positive approval from the crowds, and potentially selling some further examples. From here, the idea for the car seemed to dwindle, however, Brown’s career as an artist began to take off, until the artist began to realize that working with polyester resin came with some very dangerous side effects. This caused brown to suffer serious health issues, but he is survived by this unique concept/prototype vehicle pictured here, plus his many other contributions to the art world. Only one of the two examples produced is said to survive today, and this car, the sole survivor, was found in the 1980’s in the backyard of a restoration workshop in France. Truly, one of the most interesting, and uniquely designed Bugatti projects ever to be created, and a story that leaves the mystery of possibly finding one other example somewhere lurking anywhere in the world.
How many made? 2
Engine: n/a
Debut: 1955 Salon de l'Automobile de Paris
Top Speed: n/a
0-60mph: n/a
Photo Credit: @arthurbouchez
Research: @rarecarsonly