Christophe Antonietti (XXth) - VERY RARE - ONE OF A KIND
NAME: Bugatti T59/50
MEDIUM: Original Oil on Canvas
SIGNATURE: Artist signed lower left
SIZE: 72 x 99 cm (28 x 39 inches) - landscape
IMAGE is ACTUAL ARTWORK
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Christophe Antonietti is the son of Marc Antonietti, a famous car model maker who made superb models in very limited quantity. This painting appears on the Bugatti Page, a website dedicated to Bugatti and the models that are made.
https://www.bugattipage.com/2021news.htm
Marc Antonietti and Henri Bossat built a Type 59/50B (pictured in his son's painting) with racing bodywork. Fawn-colored upholstery, opening on the engine at the front, various meters and pedals, suspensions, functional steering wheel, etc. There were only two models like this made . The models were 1/8th scale (19.5 H x 48.5 W x 21.5 cm D. His father's models typically retail in the $7,000 - $22,000 range.
ABOUT BUGATTI:
Bugatti's Type 59 was the company's last Grand Prix racing car, introduced in 1933 as a response to increasing competition from other manufacturers. This elegant and powerful machine represented the pinnacle of Bugatti's racing technology at the time, but it arrived just as the landscape of Grand Prix racing was undergoing significant changes.
The Type 59 was a marvel of engineering, combining power and elegance. Its key features included:
- A sleek, low-slung body with graceful lines
- Iconic piano wire wheels that reduced unsprung mass
- A supercharged inline eight-cylinder engine
- Sophisticated shock absorbers for improved handling and comfort
Initially equipped with a 2.8-liter engine, it was later enlarged to 3.3 liters, producing around 250 horsepower. The Type 59 also featured a dry-sump lubrication system and a four-speed fully synchronized transmission with central shifting.
The Type 59's racing career was relatively short but notable:
- Debut: September 24, 1933, at the San Sebastian Grand Prix1934 Season:
- René Dreyfus achieved third place at the Monaco Grand Prix'Robert Benoist finished fourth at the French Grand Prix in Montlhéry
- xcIn a unique move, Bugatti converted one of the Type 59 Grand Prix cars into a sports car at the factory:
- The supercharger was removed
- A new oil tank with two-pump lubrication was added
- The bodywork was modified with motorcycle mudguards, a small windshield, and side doors
- It received a new chassis number: 57248
This converted Type 59 Sports continued to race successfully, with Jean-Pierre Wimille winning several Grand Prix events in the 1937 sports car season.
PICTURE at the end is René Dreyfus winning the 1934 Belgian Grand Prix in the Type 59.