Bugatti
Type 57G "Tank"

Why it matters

The 57G 'Tank' was Bugatti's streamlined works sports-racer of 1936–37, winner of the 1936 French Grand Prix for sports cars and of the 1937 Le Mans 24 Hours, Bugatti's first win in a major sports-car race. Only three were built and the Simeone Museum car, 57G 01, is the sole survivor.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Photos

Exterior, interior and detail photos with their licences.

• Bugatti Type 57G "Tank" (Wikimedia Commons search)
  Photo: Al R · CC BY-SA 2.0
• Bugatti Type 57G "Tank" (Wikimedia Commons search)
  Photo: Al R · CC BY-SA 2.0
• Bugatti Type 57G "Tank" (Wikimedia Commons search)
  Photo: Peter & Laila · CC BY 2.0

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

The first car, 57G 01, served as the aerodynamic mule for the three Tanks and was tested at Montlhéry in June 1936. That month the Tanks contested the ACF Grand Prix at Montlhéry, run for sports cars, and won at 125.228 km/h; in July Wimille won the Grand Prix de la Marne at Reims. In October 1936 the car set records at Montlhéry, including a one-hour average of 217.941 km/h. In June 1937 Wimille and Benoist won Le Mans.

The surviving car's engine is a 57G unit with a lighter crankshaft derived from the racing 57S; contemporary reports say the 1936 record car ran without a supercharger.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

The museum identifies 57G 01 by body details that differ from the other two Tanks. Original parts recovered for the car include its tachometer, a special Bugatti carburettor, a cylinder head with three drives out of the rear, and an oil cooler; the engine block is believed to have come from a passenger car.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   1936 Bugatti 57G "Tank" – Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum Level B

   • 3 cars built; one survivor (Simeone Museum)

   Accessed 2026-11-11
2. 2
   1936 Bugatti 57G 'Tank' Level B Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum

   • 8-cylinder, 3.25 L
   • 200 hp

   Accessed 2026-11-11
3. 3
   1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante (The Monterey Auction 2026, lot 115) Level C RM Sotheby's · 2026-01-01

   • a higher 8.5:1 compression ratio, a dry sump ... magneto-driven ignition
   • a dry sump accommodating the car's lowered center of gravity, and magneto-driven ignition

   Accessed 2026-11-12
4. 4
   1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Tourer by Corsica (Arizona 2021, lot 64) Level C RM Sotheby's · 2021-01-01

   • higher compression ratio of 8.5:1

   Accessed 2026-11-12