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StarLight presents one of the most iconic cars, the Bugatti Aerolithe 'Elektron Coupe' Concept car from 1935 is a really piece of art and with a mysterious story.
This Bugatti should be in the GT series, since it's an iconic car which has had influenced many car builders before and after the WWII.
The Bugatti Aerolithe (translates into sky stone or meteorite), was first unveiled in 1935 at the Paris motor show. While the aerodynamic swoops and 3.25 litre straight 8 engine drew admiration, the real talking point was Bugatti's choice of material for the bodywork. The body was entirely handmade from Elektron, a Magnesium-Aluminium alloy which at the time was so advanced and expensive as to be reserved for critical aeronautical components. The thought of using it for a production car body was beyond belief.
Elektron is 90% magnesium which is the lightest structural metal. However magnesium is also extremely volatile, it will react with water at room temperature, so the other 10% of the alloy consists of aluminium for chemical stability. For this reason welding was out of the question so an alternative joining technique had to be used.
This led to the prominent dorsal flange, which was riveted along its entirety, a construction method borrowed from aviation. these flanges also feature on the bonnet and along the front and rear wings. The aerodynamic rear wheel spats were bolted on for convenient wheel removal.
This necessity for unconventional construction led to the car being the pioneer for longitudinal fins in car design, inspiring post war icons most notably in america. It also augmented the cars high speed stability.
Unfortunately the the Aerolithe's greatest strength was the reason for its downfall. The elektron bodywork was deemed too expensive and too unstable, when it was realised that a crash could lead to instant 1300°C immolation, potential customers feared that the Aerolithe might live up to its latin derived name meaning meteorite. The design and construction techniques weren't wasted however as they were adopted by the conventional aluminum bodied Atlantique Type 57 (shown above) arguably one of the most graceful cars of all time.
The original car, called the Aerolithe, disappeared not long after its appearance in London in 1936. What happened to it is a great mystery and one likely never to be solved. It was likely broken up by the factory in the pursuit of spare parts or sent to scrap during the war by the Germans, who held the Bugatti factories, but not a trace of it has ever been found.
There were plenty of rumours, such as a GI bringing it back to New Jersey after the war, but there have never been any records to back up this or any other mythical fate.
This rarest and most influential of cars was never seen again. The only evidence of the car are only 11 photographs.
Two of the original photos
THE OTHER BUGATTI IS HERE
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