From the featherweight Grand Prix Type 35 through to the indomitable Royale and devastatingly powerful Chiron, no manufacturer in history has so consistently pushed the boundaries of engineering and design as Bugatti.

Nor has any marque been so inextricably linked with a reputation for both scintillating performance and timeless style.

Built with the precision to rival the finest Swiss watch and the style to match the leading couture design houses of Paris, few cars in Bugatti’s back catalogue exemplify these qualities quite so effortlessly as the sublime Type 57S.

Introduced at the Paris Auto Salon in 1936, just a year after the jaw-dropping Aérolithe stunned showgoers in the French capital, the Type 57S built on the success of Jean Bugatti’s first solo project.

Featuring a completely reengineered Surbaissé chassis that was both more compact and lower than that of the Type 57, the rakish machine featured a front axle that articulated in two halves and a rear axle that passed throu...