Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic

The Ralph Lauren Sporting Watch

Ralph Lauren is easily one of the most accomplished fashion designers of our time. But what he can't design, he acquires: the American icon of style has one of the most coveted car collections in the world, and from his exceptionally rare (and exceedingly valuable)r Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic he has drawn the inspiration for the timepiece you see here.

The latest in Lauren's Sporting Watch collection is styled after the interior of the Atlantic, with an elm burl wood ring emulating the car's dashboard, galvanized matte black dial with white Arabic numerals like the Bugatti's gauges, and visible screws around the case front recalling the rivets along the Atlantic's spine. The movement is crafted by the Richemont group – the same company that makes Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai and IWC, to name just a few – and features a 45-hour power reserve. And like a Bugatti, it commands a suitably high price of $13,200.

Gallery: Ralph Lauren Sporting Watch

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Tags: bugatti, bugatti type 57sc atlantic, ralph lauren, ralph lauren sporting watch, ralph lauren watches, Richemont, richemont group

Ultra-Rare 1936 Bugatti Atlantic Sells for Record $30-40 Million

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

If you thought the $12.2 million paid this time last year for a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa was a lot, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Reports are coming in that an extremely rare 1936 Bugatti has traded hands for between $30- and $40 million, easily taking the record for the highest sum ever paid for a single automobile, and by itself approaching the record held by RM Auctions for the highest amount traded in a single day in an automobile auction.

The automobile in question is known as the Williamson Bugatti, a 1936 Type 57SC Atlantic of which only two or three remain in existence. One is owned by Ralph Lauren, and the other belonged to the late Dr. Peter Williamson, a noted collector of classic Bugattis. Auctioneers Gooding & Company helped Williamson amass his collection, and have helped his estate liquidate it to other collectors since his passing. But the Atlantic remained until last. The private sale – details of which remain unconfirmed but reported by no less prestigious a publication as The Wall Street Journal and its Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive columnist Dan Neil – reportedly went to the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California, so chances are the public will have ample opportunity to view this unparalleled piece of automotive art first hand.

Gallery: 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic (Williamson)