Rare '37 Bugatti Sells for Record-Breaking $7.9 Million

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed)
Aug 19th 2008 at 7:02PM

A rare 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante Coupe sold for $7.92 million at Gooding & Co.'s auto auction (that we recently reported on) during the annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California over the weekend - the highest price ever paid for an automobile at auction in the U.S.A. The car was part of the Dr. Peter and Susan Williamson Collection, billed as the world's finest assemblage of Bugattis, several of which fetched high prices at the sale. The next highest price at the Gooding & Co. event was a 1950 Ferrari 166 MM Berlinetta Le Mans, which fetched $2.2 million. Meanwhile, at RM Auctions' similar sale during the classic car event, which we told you about earlier this month, a 1961 Ferrari 250GT SWB Berlinetta brought in an impressive $4.5 million.

Tags: Bugatti, California, Ferrari, Gooding Company, GoodingCompany, Pebble Beach, PebbleBeach, RM Auctions, RmAuctions

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

mike callahan Aug 20th 2008 9:59PM

the question more to the sale is what the car sold for in 1937. That is the important issue. If sold either in Germany or the US in that time, a $20,000 price tag was unusally high compared to those that could afford a $2,000 automobile.

In any case the value to price is interesting.

MikeC