1936 Atlantis Is a Modern Era Super Concept, Art Deco Lovers Must Approve

The term is used to designate a style that was all the craze back in the years between the two world wars. A sort of shortened form of the French term arts decoratifs, it included designs that were clean and simple, with the lines of any object made in this fashion almost always streamlined.

Generally speaking the term art deco refers to items that were more on the luxury side of things, thus not necessarily mass-produced. And that condition applies first and foremost to the world of motorized vehicles.

There have been a number of art deco cars (and motorcycles, for that matter) made over the years, with the biggest names of the industry involved in making them: Bugatti, Delahaye, or Rolls-Royce.

Overall though this style didn't really catch the greater attention of the automotive world, so presently there are not that many vehicles with art deco cues making the rounds. But there are exceptions, and the 1936 Atlantis is one of them.

The car is a full custom build signed by one Ron Santarsiero. It first surfaced in 2021, when it was shown at the end of four years of very hard work.

The Atlantis is not only a vehicle built in the purest art deco style, but it is also meant to be a roundup of all the great things other historically important and very expensive cars of the genre had to show for over the years.

Do you remember the 1937 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic owned by Ralph Lauren? I'm talking about one of just three cars of its kind to have survived to this day, winner of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, and a vehicle estimated to be worth some $40 million.

Well, if you remember that you may very well see some resemblance in the Atlantis, especially in the lines of the bodywork and the concept's center section, boasting the carmaker's logo.

The luxurious 135MS Roadster produced by French carmaker Delahaye is present on the build as well, coming to light as the enclosed fenders of the Atlantis. Even Mercedes-Benz has a representative on the car, in the form of the exterior lights and windscreen, which were inspired by the 1936 500K.

The unique roadster that sits before us wears colors and an interior design that can be traced back to a special 1935 Duesenberg SJ. That would be a vehicle commissioned by Maharaja Holkar of the Indian city of Indore and built by British coachbuilder Gurney Nutting.

All of the above is interesting and all, but as usual when it comes to full custom builds it's the more technical details that capture the attention.

The Atlantis is built on a custom chassis supported by a combination between a Camaro suspension and an air ride. Around that, and over the wheels that are completely hidden from sight, the massive body of the car was fitted.

Hidden inside the massive and imposing body is the thing that animates the vehicle, a fuel-injected 5.3-liter V8 LS engine equipped with an aluminum radiator and a Borla exhaust system. In this configuration, and controlled by means of a 4-speed automatic transmission, the engine sends a total of 460 horsepower to a GM rear end. Stopping power is supplied by Wilwood hardware.

The car only has room for two people, each of them seated in an orange interior drowned in quilted leather - the thing can be seen on the seats, door panels, and even the dashboard. All this leather overload is offset by elements in aluminum on the dash and elsewhere, white-face gauges, and a steering wheel with polished spokes are the highlights of the cabin. Somewhere in the dash, lower and to the center, a retro-styled CD player with Bluetooth has been discreetly placed.

The Atlantis is a roadster, and that means its top comes off when needed. When up though this element comes as a black canvas, and allows for the chill of the air conditioning system to remain inside the cabin.

The 1936 Atlantis is in the news today because it's about to sell this week in Monterey, California. Auction house Mecum is tasked with finding a new owner for it, someone willing to pay at least $200,000 to get their hands on this art deco wonder. Why, there are even hopes the car could fetch as much as a quarter of a million dollars.

We'll have to wait and see if such high expectations will be met. We'll keep an eye out for more details on this particular car and no matter the outcome we'll come back on this story and tell you all about how it went.