You may remember supply and demand as a boring concept from your high school economics class, but it’s a very real thing, especially in the automotive world. Bugatti built only four Type 57SC Atlantics, with the whereabouts of three being known (the fourth disappeared in the late 1930s). Given their legendary status, miniscule production numbers, and how seldomly they change hands, Atlantics are so expensive that they may as well be priceless. But thanks to Amalgam Collection, it’s possible to buy one for $26,995.

Each of the four Atlantics that Bugatti built have nicknames. The “Holzschuh Atlantic” was delivered to Jacques Holzschuh of France in October 1936. Its second owner died in an accident that also destroyed the car. It was later restored, but the engine was beyond saving. R.B. Pope was the original owner of the car that came to be known as the “Pope Atlantic.” Its current owner? A guy by the name of Ralph Lauren. Ettore Bugatti’s son Jean commissioned “La Voiture Noire” (the black car) for himself and used it for brochure photos and as a display at car shows. According to Bugatti, “There is no trace of this car after 1938. It is not quite clear whether Jean Bugatti sold the car to a racing driver among his friends or whether it was moved to a safer region of France when the German army invaded Alsace, which is more probable.” Back in 2019, Bugatti estimated that if La Voiture Noire were ever to be found, it would be valued at more than €100 million. In today’s currency market, €100 million equates to more than $115 million.

The blue Atlantic upon which this 99-unit run of models is based is called the “Rothschild Atlantic” because it was built in 1936 for British banker Victor Rothschild. Originally configured without a supercharger, the Atlantic was sent back to Bugatti’s factory in Molsheim to get one. After the blower failed and blew up the engine in 1941, Rothschild abandoned his Atlantic in a field. Over the subsequent decades, the car changed owners and colors. Amalgam states, “The car changed hands in 1971 for a total of $59k to collector Peter Williamson, who actively used the car for the next 32 years. He returned it to its original state and exhibited at the 2003 edition of Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance where it won the ‘Best of Show’ award.” (I interviewed Jim Stranberg, the man who restored the Rothschild Atlantic to its 1938 specs in time for Pebble Beach, so click here to learn more about the whole process.) The current owner is Rob Walton (of Walmart fame), who displayed the Atlantic at the 2026 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Using scans of Ralph Lauren’s Atlantic and assisted by Bugatti’s automotive historian Julius Kruta, Amalgam replicated the Rothschild Atlantic in 1:8 scale. It’s all there, from the body-color disc wheel covers to the riveted dorsal fin down the middle of the car to the nine louvers above each side window to the five rear exhaust outlets. The supercharged 3.3-liter straight-8 looks slightly different than what I saw at the 2025 Arizona Concours d’Elegance, but perhaps Amalgam based its engine on an earlier mechanical configuration. Amalgam faithfully recreated the real Atlantic’s cabin, even down to the indentations in the wood rim of the steering wheel and the piping on the center tunnel.

Like the car that inspired it, the Amalgam Collection’s 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic 1:8-scale model is absolutely distinctive and stunning. Sure, it costs more than a brand-new Nissan Sentra and you can’t drive it besides, but many cars that aren’t even as special or rare as the real Atlantic never get driven anyway. Instead, they’re permanently on display — like a model car.