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Young Man With Bugatti
We couldn’t identify the young man but the Bugatti is the Atlantic S/N 57374. But only Jim Sitz could come up with a location and date of the photo. Read on.
In 1949 Strother MacMinn took these photos of the Bugatti Atlantic/Aérolithe (S/N 57374) when owned by Bob Oliver. The photos were supplied by Dale LaFollette at Vintage Motorphoto and published here with the permission of Bob Ames. Below, comments from Jim Sitz.
Strother MacMinn was one terrific guy and I’m sorry I cannot do his memory better. Witty and charming; quite a guy and the ladies were always after him, especially those around Road & Track. And of course as can be seen here and in the And How! on the Delahaye, he was very good with the camera as well.
Mac took photos of the Atlantic in the summer of 1949 at Hollywood Wheel & Axle, 6009 Sunset Boulevard. They had ace mechanic named Joe Reindl who was an expert on Mercedes and owned both a Mercedes SS and 540 K. It is the same location where young mechanic Phil Hill worked for Rudy Sumptner and his Offy Midget.
Bugatti with Mercedes.
Note the Mercedes in background which adds mystery to the photo. Reindl was a Mercedes specialist.”
Bob Oliver (not to be confused with Hempstone Oliver) purchased Bugatti Atlantic S/N 57374 while in military service in England 1945 from Rodney Clarke, who operated Continental Motors. It was advertised in the February 1945 issue of Motor Sport as the “ ex-Lord Rothschild Aérolithe coupe”.
Oliver had to wait for peace to ship it home and finally got the car shipped to the U.S. on August 16, 1947.
The King of the Road
Before Oliver sent it to France it was red, and pictured on the cover of the Bantam edition of “Kings of the Road”. “When I saw it at the Cunningham Museum years later, it was a light blue again. That light car on right would be Joe Reindls Mercedes SS roadster from the 1920s.”
By May 1946 Oliver was living in Brentwood at 400 Gretna Green. He later moved to Beverly Glen in Bel Air by time Ken Purdy wrote of the car for TRUE magazine in 1949. Oliver then displayed it at a Motorama show November of 1950 then shipped it back to France for modifications in about 1953. Purdy also used the photo of the then-red Atlantic for the cover of his book, “Kings of the Road”.
As you probably know, Oliver was a key player in prewar ARCA events in a Bugatti. His cars in California also included an Invicta, Speed 6 Bentley, an SSK Mercedes, a Bug T 37 he raced, and a Rolls Royce Phantom II bought in the UK 1938.
Atlantic or Aérolithe
Striking front view almost hides the famous seam that splits the car and the windshield. This car was the first production Atlantic, earlier known as the Aérolithe.
After arriving back from France, Oliver’s health declined. Around 1958 the car was put in storage. Oliver died at the age of 50 in 1970. It was on display at the Cunningham Museum until 1971 when sold at an auction to Dr. Peter Williamson for $71,000 (some sources say $59,000), a record at the time.
Bugatti, Blown
Rothschild’s son recalled that his father left the Atlantic in field after the engine exploded, and it went through several owners apparently without a blower until Rodney Clarke obtained it and installed a T55 Rootes supercharger. This is apparently what is seen here, as Oliver had it upgraded to full 57SC specs and supercharger in 1953-54.
Funny thing of this rare car. It is now with Peter Mullin. As youngsters, both Mullin and I lived in the LA suburb of Alhambra. When I told him my address, he joked that I lived up on the better part of town! Peter always gave nice Christmas party for us members of American Bugatti Club and had those French flair cars at his Brentwood home.
A come-on look with the door open. It was not, however, a very inviting cockpit once on the road.
Those who owned and drove the Atlantics reported that inside, it was terribly hot and terribly noisy – the best thing about the car was the looks. See below for a lightened version of this photo.
The second of three engine shots taken by MacMinn.
We published all three engine shots as photos like this are rare as hen’s teeth.
Doing what we shouldn’t do to great photos. But we know you want to see more details and the only way is to brighten the images thusly.
Note the rear window treatment. This is the original configuration. In 1953 Oliver had the rear window enlarged.
Reportedly, Clarke sold the car with a translucent three spoke steering wheel, but in this photo we see the traditional four spoke Bugatti wheel.
To read more about the Bugatti Atlantics, click here.
Our thanks to Tom Clifford of the American Bugatti Club for providing additional information.
An enjoyable story as only Jim Sitz can tell!
I remember the Rothschild Atlantic well. Peter Williamson was the cousin of my wife Laurie and he gave me a few rides in the car in between tennis games at his Greenwich home. As Jim mentioned, noisy, hot and not very comfortable, but we did get noticed on the Merritt Parkway. In spite of the claim that Bugattis were so well engineered they did not need engine gaskets, my pristine pair of white tennis shorts told a different story. Afterward they were covered with tiny oil spots.
According to Peter, close neighbor Ralph Lauren was very eager to buy the car from him. Based on Peter’s alcohol intake, the sum offered ranged from $1 to $2 million, but Ralphie was turned down each time, so he bought the other one.
Looking back on that ” Summer of 1949 ” it seems unbelievable to have seen
so many important automobiles ..despite making several bike trips waiting for
arrival of the new Jaguar XK 120. Finally arrived ands snapped up by actor
Clark Gable.
The rare Bugatti, and real Hollywood Duesenberg, and something called
a Ferrari..!
Which was of course the 1st one to arrive in America and in the Tommy Lee
stable.
I was fortunate and grateful as could be
faithfully
Jim Sitz
G.P. Oregon
I do remember another detail in my conversations with Peter Williamson about his Rothschild Atlantic, a subject that has not come up yet.
Rumor had it that his car’s body was made of magnesium and one day he put it to the test. He took off a small piece and put the torch to it. The fire ball that followed seemed to confirm it was indeed made of magnesium..
I love Jim Sitz and his recollections, but to call Bob Oliver a “key player” in the ARCA would be overstating it a bit. He enjoyed little or no success with his T37 Bugatti (which I now own) in the 1934 and 1935 seasons (which has always led me to believe he was born earlier than the reported 1920) and was also a rather poor driver, leading Sam Collier to “chew him out” for blocking Dick Wharton in the May 19, 1935 Sleepy Hollow Ring race at Pocantico Hills, New York. He retired from racing and the ARCA shortly thereafter. Great photos of 57374!
Hi Jim,
Many thanks for your great and continuing memories of the terrific Strother Mac Minn. I him at pretty much the same time as I met you at the Cunningham Museum. Mac was such a source of information and inspiration to us young guys. He was always taking pictures of the collection and frequently offered us a chance to have our picture taken behind the wheel of our hero cars. In this case it was the Oliver Atlantique, which was running quite well at that time, albeit with a truculant preselect gearbox.
Keep up with your contributions here, and do contact me if you ever come south.
Ron Kloetzli
Santa Ana, CA
This is the most authoritative piece I’ve read about 57374, and over the years I’ve read, and written, quite a bit about it. (See Bugatti Revue, “Victor Rothschild”). The photos and the information are wonderful. As the New York Times said in their report of the 1971 Sotheby’s sale, the price was $59,000, not $71,000; perhaps the higher price might have been after a buyer’s premium and fees, I don’t know. Both Sotheby’s and the Times used the incorrect French spelling, and the Times used a photo of the wrong car, the Aerolithe, in their story.
The biggest surprise to me in this article is that Roberts had the rear windows enlarged in 1953. I would have expected him to know better than to make such a mistake at such a late date. The term Dr. Williamson used to describe the various modifications to the body was “butchered.” Having seen 57374 in person both before and after the restoration that corrected the modifications, I can assure you that it was a mess before.
Perhaps I should have said it’s the most authoritative article I’ve read about that period in the car’s history. The other excellent article is about the next stage: Jim Stranberg’s “Restoring 57374 — The Atlantic”, in Vol. 44 No.2, Spring 2004, of Pur Sang, the quarterly publication of the American Bugatti Club. It also has very good before, during and after photos.
All the data was taken from contemporary sources as
Motor Sport magazine of England, the delightful “Bugantics “
from Bugatti Owners Club and our SCCA club journal in America.
Regarding those rear windows, enthusiast were not amused at the time !
Faithfully
Jim Sitz