Introduction
The story of Bugatti is really the story of Ettore Bugatti and the
cars made in Molsheim France from 1910 to 1947 covering Type 10
through Type 78. Ettore was born in Milan in 1881 and worked for
several car companies before establishing his facility in the Alsace
region in 1909. His cars are works of art. The Molsheim factory
produced about 8000 cars of which 1500 survive.
See: www.bugatti.co.uk and Musee National de L'Aoutomobile de Mulhouse
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The
Type 32
Tank was
designed and built for one race only, the 14 mile circuit (496 mile
long race) French Grand Prix de Tourisme on 2 July 1923. Ernest
Friderich drove #6 and finished third. |
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Type 41 Royal There were six
Royales
built by Bugatti meant to be "the car of kings". Each Royale
had its own unique body style, and all six still exist and can be
accounted for. |
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The
Type 46 Bugatti was
produced from 1929-1935 and about 400 were built in Coupe, Saloon,
Tourer and Limousine models. It has a 5 liter OHC 8 cylinder engine. |
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Type 57 Bugatti includes a
number of very
different cars through 6 major models and 3 series from 1934 to
1939. There were variations in wheelbase, engine and popularity. Some
of the most rare and exotic Bugattis in existance are the Atlantic
which like the more familiar Atlante was a 2 door 2 seat
coupe. The Ventoux was a 2 door 4 seat coupe. The Aravis was a
2 door 2 seat cabriolet. The Galibier was a 4 door sedan and the
Stelvio was a 2 door 4 seat cabriolet. About 630 standard cars
were build plus 40 sport (short chasis). A Type 57G 'Tank' won Le Mans
in 1937 and 1939. Tragically Ettore's son Jean was killed driving the
Le Mans car in practice. His design influence on the Type 57 was
considerable. |
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The
Type 59 was made
from 1934 to 1936. It was the ultimate evolution of Bugatti Grand Prix
cars. Works drivers included Dreyfus Brivio, Benoist, Wimille, and
Novolari as an independent. Initially campaigned at 2.8liter the Type
59 was later enlarged to 3.3liters. Wins included the 1936 GP du
Comminges and the 1937 Grand Prex de Pau, however the chassis and
suspension were now antique compared to new Auto Union, Mercedes, Alfa
Romeo and Maserati designs. |
