Consider the Bugatti Type 57. Built between 1934 and 1939, it's the perfect convergence of speed and performance. And, not incidentally, it's also hugely attractive--the car looks like it could have driven right off the set of Bertolucci's The Conformist. Now on view at the Allan Stone Gallery is a 1937 convertible in deep blue and cream. One of only 700 57s ever built, it's an absolute stunner.

Founded by the Milanese aesthete Ettore Bugatti in 1910, Bugatti created cars with extraordinary attention to form and function and little concern about cost. The Type 57 was designed by Ettore's son, Jean, whose training as an artist is evident in the car's remarkable sculptural contours. Seeing a model poised in a gallery better known for showing blue-chip work, like Wayne Thiebaud's exquisite cake paintings, only reinforces an appreciation of the car's beauty, of its standing as an art object.

Possessing a straight-8 engine, it was one of the most successful cars on the European racing circuit, notching repeated victories at Le Mans. But its success as a racing machine hardly means that the interior was neglected. With its gorgeous wooden dash and discreet Art Deco details, you are forgiven if you have an urge to climb in and tour the Amalfi Coast with, say, Stefania Sandrelli.

Also on display is the little one-seat Type 52, sometimes known as the Baby Bugatti. Conceived and built for Ettore's five-year old son, Roland, it ultimately spawned a fleet of 150 for lucky children on the Continent. It's the perfect car for the idealized Italian childhood that hardly any of us ever had. Sporting an electric motor that topped out at a cool 11 mph, it was (and remains) an elegant first step toward a lifelong obsession.

-- DAVID COGGINS

The Bugatti 57's luxe interior.