Vehicle Description
In the world of East Coast automobile collecting, especially in
Florida, few people stood as tall for as long as the late Alexander
E. Ulmann. His name is synonymous with Sebring, the first American
automotive endurance race, which he established in December 1950,
as well as with early efforts to establish the U.S. Grand Prix.
However, his efforts in early U.S. automobile enthusiasm were not
strictly limited to being a track-day impresario. Raised around
Russia's hydroelectric power plants and possessor of a master's
from MIT, his business success in the burgeoning aeronautic and
aerospace industries funded collecting that was as diverse as his
life. Mercedes of 1908 and 1914 occupied the Ulmann garage, as did
the famed marque Hispano-Suiza; but of his many automotive
passions, few were as warm or as long-lasting as that for this
Bugatti Type 57, Chassis No. 57406. According to Bugatti historian
Kees Jansen, Ulmann's Type 57 was built in April 1936; its body
was, and remains, a four-passenger Stelvio, the attractive Jean
Bugatti-designed cabriolet with its distinctive pontoon fenders and
Atalante-like rounded tail. Typical of Bugatti, the Stelvio's
design evolved during Type 57 production. In 1935-36, the Stelvio
sported a folding windshield and a top that would fold nearly flat
and out-of-sight into a "cut-out" provided for it at the rear of
the body. The result was streamlined, attractive and sporting. It
was an automobile that just seemed to have been designed to show
off. Bugatti agreed, and sent Chassis 57406 to the Nantes Fair, an
international trade exhibition for everything from farm equipment
to sports cars, which still exists today. On August 8, 1936, the
car was sold to its original owner, R. Petit. Subsequently, the car
made its way into the ownership of a Mr. Ferrand, by which time it
had been upgraded with the later-style headlamps integrated into
the front fenders, as well as spats over the rear wheels. Period
photographs from the 1940s show the car already fitted with these
features, which in their design and construction seem very
professional and true to later 1937-39 Bugattis. In addition, the
car was also fitted with the front "moustache" bumpers, as well as
Lockheed hydraulic brakes, which were a common upgrade to earlier
cable-brake cars. All of this indicates that these modifications
were either done by the factory or by a Bugatti agent. The Bugatti
was sold by Ferrand to Jacques Dufilho, then a well-known actor
living in the Latin Quarter of Paris. Additional very charming
photographs on file depict the car during Dufilho's long-term
ownership, with members of his family enjoying its good company. It
was this last French owner who would sell the car, in 1974, to Alec
Ulmann, in whose collection it would be maintained for the rest of
the great sportsman's life. Ulmann drove the car without the rear
fender spats and refinished it in light blue and black. The
American Bugatti Registers by Andy Rheault and Sandy Leith note
continued ownership by Ulmann until his passing in 1986. The
Bugatti was then sold in 1988, to the Blackhawk Collection, where
the Bugatti was restored to its present appearance, updating its
Ulmann two-tone royal blue and black "sweep panel" livery while
fitting pale gray leather upholstery as a breathtaking contrast and
reinstalling the "spats" on the rear wheels. The wire wheels were
chromed, as had been available from Bugatti in 1937. It retains its
original engine, No. 286, and the transmission (No. 68C, from a
supercharged Stelvio), as well as its original rear axle No. 427;
the internal frame number is 50. The dashboard carries what appear
to be the original gauges, except for a new Jaeger tachometer
(undoubtedly useful in spirited driving). The odometer records
1,171 kilometers (728 miles), which is the distance traveled since
the restoration. From the Don Williams Collection.
