Bugatti Type 41 Royale - Type 57: Books - History

Bugatti Type 50 : The autobiography of Bugatti's first Le Mans car (Great Cars)

The thirteenth book in the highly regarded 'Great Cars' series tells the story of the Bugatti Type 50 and of one chassis in particular - chassis 50177. This car led the famous Le Mans endurance race on its opening season in 1931, until its sister car crashed heavily at high speed and it was withdrawn for safety reasons. This is just one of the many fascinating tales included in the book.

Thrilling race reports of all four Le Mans races in which Type 50s took part tell a story of promise, unfulfilled, while driver biographies, illustrated with fine period photography, reveal both the glamour and the danger of life in the fast lane in the 1930s.
The book documents 50177's post-war journey across the Atlantic with Le Mans hero Luigi Chinetti and reveals how it came into the hands of passionate collector, Miles Coverdale, who uncovered much of its curious and captivating history.

Bugatti Type 57 to Type 251 - Brooklands Portfolio

Brooklands Portfolio book about the Bugatti models Type 57, 57C, 57G, 57S, 57SC, 57 Atlantic, 57 Atalante, type 59, type 73, 73C, 73 Grand Prix, type 101 and Type 251.

• The articles, taken from contemporary British and American car magazines, provide much information about history, model changes and technology.
• Also driving impressions, tests, comparison tests, technical specifications, etc.

▶  More information on the Brooklands Portfolio books

Bugatti Veyron - A Quest for Perfection - The Story of the Greatest Car in the World

The Bugatti Veyron's statistics are mind-boggling: 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds; a top speed of 253 mph; tyres that cost £20,000 a set and an engine with ten radiators and four turbos; a launch control system taken from F1 and even windscreen wipers that create sizeable downforce ... all delivered complete with a high-end stereo system, luxurious leather seats and air-conditioning. It was a feat of engineering grandiosity that, in automotive terms, rivals the achievements of the great 19th Century industrialists.

In this book bestselling author Martin Roach sets out to track down the mythical beast that is a Bugatti Veyron - and ultimately attempts to drive one. He traces the genesis of this remarkable machine through Bugatti's long and glorious early days and then through its more turbulent modern era. Travelling to the top secret Bugatti Research & Development workshop in Germany, touring the factory and chateau in France where these stunning cars are hand-built, interviewing famous engineers, super-rich owners and automotive presidents, as well as a host of other expert eye-witnesses to this unique car's many achievements, Roach ponders this mechanical whirlwind and in so doing has written a page-turning study of a modern masterpiece.
For the first time, Bugatti has allowed access to the Veyron's Chief Engineer, designers, test drivers, archivists, the Bugatti factory, photographers and the President of Bugatti himself.

Bugatti Type 41 to Type 55 - Brooklands Portfolio

Brooklands Portfolio book about the Bugatti Type 41 Royale plus the types 43A, 44, 49, 50 S/T, 51A, 53 and 55.

• The articles, taken from contemporary British and American car magazines, provide much information about history, model changes and technology.
• Also driving impressions, tests, comparison tests, technical specifications, etc.

▶  More information on the Brooklands Portfolio books

Bugatti Type 46 & 50 : The Big Bugattis

The Bugatti Type 46 was announced in the autumn of 1929. The new Bugatti chassis, at almost twelve feet in length and powered by an 8-cylinder engine of 5300cc, was intended to be the basis of a superlative large luxury car - and so it proved to be.
Bodied by the greatest European coachbuilders to the highest standards of quality and style for rich and discerning clientele, the T46 was in many ways a smaller Royale and is said to have been the favourite of Ettore Bugatti.

Later, an optional supercharger became available to create the 46S model. In 1930 the Bugatti Type 50 superseded the T46. The new model still used the T46's chassis and most of its running gear, but featured a new, high-performance, twin-overhead-camshaft engine of just under 5-litre capacity. This supercharged unit gave the T50 very spirited performance for such a large and luxurious car, placing the model firmly in the Grand Sport category.

In total, fewer than five hundred T46 and T50 Bugattis were built. With the obvious exception of the Royale, these cars represented the pinnacle of luxury car manufacture for the famous Molsheim marque.

See fabulous coachbuilt bodies by Gaston Grummer, Chapron, Ghia, James Young, Van Vooren, Weymann, Billeter & Cartier, Gangloff, Joss Neuce, Mllion-Guiet, Freestone & Webb, Van den Plas, Arthur Mulliner, Kellner, Lancefield, Corsica, Visse et Haf, Ottin, Brainsby-Woollard, Sodomka, Graber, Weinburger, Abbots of Farnham as well as Bugatti's standard bodies.

Barrie Price's work is a concise history of the Bugatti Types 46 and 50, an engineering analysis and the most thorough survey yet of the many coachbuilt bodies fitted to these famous chassis.
Appendices include a complete chassis listing and reproductions of promotional material produced by Bugatti, Bugatti agents and others.

Bugatti 57 - The Last French Bugatti (Classic Reprint)

The magnificent Type 57 was the final flowering of the genius of Ettore Bugatti and Jean Bugatti, and was the last truly new model from the Bugatti factory in Molsheim, France. Conceived as a fast, luxurious and exclusive touring car, the T57 was in production from 1934 to 1939, and was so successful that the model accounts for around 10 per cent of all Bugattis built at Molsheim.

Not only a sales success, the T57 formed the basis of a Grand Prix model, a twice Le Mans-winning sports racing car and, in road-going form, wore some of the most beautiful bodies ever created by the great coachbuilders of the vintage period. See the work of Letourneur & Marchand, Graber, Gangloff, James Young, Corsica, Van Vooren & Saoutchik, Vanden Plas, Figoni & Falaschi, Sodomka, Henri Labourdette, Fernandel & Darren, Franay, Guilloré, Malyby, Tüschner, Worblaufen and Rice & Harper. Also the standard bodies: Atalante, Galibier, Stelvio, Ventoux, Atlantic and Aravis.

Barrie Price's work is a concise history of the T57 and its derivatives the T59, T64 and T101, an engineering analysis, and the most thorough survey yet of the many coachbuilt bodies fitted to this famous chassis.
The reader will also find appendices crammed with detailed and valuable information ranging from chassis numbers and original owners to sales and service statistics.

Bugatti Type 57 Grand Prix : A Celebration

This work examines the Type 57 Grand Prix cars, the creation of Jean Bugatti, Ettore's eldest son. It describes the 57G's racing career and evolution through its siblings, the Types 57, 57S and 59.
Type 57G characteristics are identified, with race-to-race body and chassis details described, and the Type 57G, 57S45, 57 'Sport' and 57C Le Mans cars are defined, and their enigmatic history revised.

Includes many previously unpublished factory drawings and photographs, and describes all the detailed body and chassis changes from prototype, and from race to race. With new and previously unpublished information, it provides a convincing final argument that there were originally four T57G 'Tanks' built, the prototype being written off following a crash at Montlhery.
It provides the latest information about the enigmatic Type 57S45 'Tanks,' and the most up-to-date information about the 1939 Type 57C Le Mans winning car.
It challenges conventional Bugatti history by showing that the 'King Leopold car, 57248, is a Type 57G, not a Type 59, and it discusses the evolution sequence and developmentof the Type 57 Grand Prix cars from 1934 to 1939.
Also discussed are the myths and rumours surrounding the cars, with convincing for and against accounts. It discusses the final months leading to Jean Bugatti's fatal accident, Ettore's plan to re-locate the factory to Belgium, and dismisses the notion that Jean committed suicide.
The book illustrates many of the toys and miniatures of the T57G made by manufaturers to celebrate the cars from 1937 to date. It discusses race results, analyses, and political events.

Covers the Bugatti Type 57 Grand Raid - 1934-37, Bugatti Type 57 Grand Prix 'Tank' - 1935-36, Bugatti Type 57G Le Mans 'Tank' - 1937, Bugatti Type 57S45 'Tank' - 1937, Bugatti Type 57S - 1935-39, Bugatti Grand Prix Type 59 - 1933-38, and Bugatti Type 57C Le Mans 'Tank' - 1939.