Abstract Reflections on a Bug
1939 Bugatti Type 57C Gangloff Stelvio model. Named after the Passo dello Stelvio pass in the Eastern Alps, the Type 57 Stelvio was Bugatti’s factory-designed four-seat Cabriolet. Bugatti’s ultimate pre-war roadgoing model, the Type 57 was the successor to the swift and comfortable Type 49, but it shared little except for the bore and stroke of its inline-eight-cylinder engine. The design was steadily revised between 1934 and the end of production in 1939, with regular refinement to its specifications, including the late-in-life adaptation of Lockheed hydraulic brakes. Optionally available beginning in 1937 was a supercharged engine, identified as a Type 57C, which could boast over 215 horsepower—a significant improvement over the output of a stock Type 57.
Most of the Type 57 Stelvio bodies were manufactured by the Swiss coachbuilder, Gangloff in it's Colmar factory (just down the road from Bugatti's Molsheim factory), who modified the design in detail from car to car. Some of the bodies used faired-in headlights where the majority had external units.
The rear seat in the Stelvio had to little legroom, it could only be used as an occasional 2+1 with the passenger seat fully forward. It is estimated that Gangloff bodied about 80 Stelvios in total.
The company was founded in 1903 by Georges Gangloff. Gangloff was one of the most important passenger vehicle coachbuilders after World War 1. They produced bodies for Martini, Rolls-Royce, Delage, Ansaldo, Hispano-Suiza, Isotta-Fraschini, Mercedes-Benz, Bugatti, Minerva and various other, also American, makes. Gangloff of Colmar, (they also had 3 Swiss factories) very near to Bugatti's home town Molsheim, also did several 'factory' bodies for Bugatti. Which of the Gangloff bodies are really Molsheim designs, and which aren't, is often not so clear.
AS ALWAYS....COMMENTS & INVITATIONS with AWARD BANNERS will be respectfully DELETED!
Abstract Reflections on a Bug
1939 Bugatti Type 57C Gangloff Stelvio model. Named after the Passo dello Stelvio pass in the Eastern Alps, the Type 57 Stelvio was Bugatti’s factory-designed four-seat Cabriolet. Bugatti’s ultimate pre-war roadgoing model, the Type 57 was the successor to the swift and comfortable Type 49, but it shared little except for the bore and stroke of its inline-eight-cylinder engine. The design was steadily revised between 1934 and the end of production in 1939, with regular refinement to its specifications, including the late-in-life adaptation of Lockheed hydraulic brakes. Optionally available beginning in 1937 was a supercharged engine, identified as a Type 57C, which could boast over 215 horsepower—a significant improvement over the output of a stock Type 57.
Most of the Type 57 Stelvio bodies were manufactured by the Swiss coachbuilder, Gangloff in it's Colmar factory (just down the road from Bugatti's Molsheim factory), who modified the design in detail from car to car. Some of the bodies used faired-in headlights where the majority had external units.
The rear seat in the Stelvio had to little legroom, it could only be used as an occasional 2+1 with the passenger seat fully forward. It is estimated that Gangloff bodied about 80 Stelvios in total.
The company was founded in 1903 by Georges Gangloff. Gangloff was one of the most important passenger vehicle coachbuilders after World War 1. They produced bodies for Martini, Rolls-Royce, Delage, Ansaldo, Hispano-Suiza, Isotta-Fraschini, Mercedes-Benz, Bugatti, Minerva and various other, also American, makes. Gangloff of Colmar, (they also had 3 Swiss factories) very near to Bugatti's home town Molsheim, also did several 'factory' bodies for Bugatti. Which of the Gangloff bodies are really Molsheim designs, and which aren't, is often not so clear.
AS ALWAYS....COMMENTS & INVITATIONS with AWARD BANNERS will be respectfully DELETED!