Bugatti 8-cylinder line

Bugatti Type 30
Bugatti Type 30
	1929 Bugatti Type 49 Tourer
Overview
Manufacturer	Bugatti
Also called	Type 38, 40, 43, 44, and 49
Production	1922–1934
Body and chassis
Class	Grand tourer
Chronology
Successor	Bugatti Type 57

Last updated May 02, 2024

The early Bugatti 8-cylinder line began with the 1922 Type 30. The same basic design was used for the 1926 Type 38 as well as the Type 40, Type 43, Type 44, and Type 49.

Type 30

Produced from 1922 through 1926, the Type 30 used the 2 L (1991 cc/121 in³) engine of the Type 29 racer. It shared its chassis (including the axles and gearbox) with the Type 13 "Brescia". This engine went on to be used in the cut-cost Type 35A and Type 38. About 600 were built from late 1922 through 1926 in varying specifications.^[1]

Type 38

The Type 38 was produced in 1926 and 1927.^[1]^[2] It used the 2 L (1991 cc/121 in³) engine from the Type 35A "Tecla". The supercharger from the Type 37A was later fitted, making the Type 38A. Its gearbox and brakes were later used in the Type 40, while its radiator and axles were shared with the Type 43.

385 examples were produced, 39 of which were supercharged 38As.

Type 40

The Type 40, introduced in 1926 and produced through 1930, used the 3-valve 1.5 L (1496 cc/91 in³) engine first used in some Type 37s. It was an enclosed tourer or (as the Type 40A) small roadster. About 830 were built.

The Type 40A shared its block with the Type 40 and displaced 1.6 L (1627 cc/99 in³). All 40 Type 40As were built in 1930.

Type 43

Another evolution of the basic 8 platform, the Type 43 borrowed the supercharged 2.3 L (2262 cc/138 in³) engine from the Type 35B and combined it with the basic chassis of the Type 38. The engine produced about 120 hp (89 kW), bringing the little car to 60 mph (97 km/h) in less than 12 seconds.

The Type 43 was noted at the time as the world's first 100 mph (160 km/h) production car — in fact, it could hit 110 mph (180 km/h) when most fast cars could only reach 70 mph (110 km/h). 160 of these "Grand Sport" cars were made from 1927 through 1931, with a Type 43A roadster appearing that year and lasting through 1932.

Type 44

The Type 44 was the widest-production variant of this range, with 1,095 known. A larger and sometimes enclosed tourer, it used a new 3-valve SOHC 3 L (2991 cc/182 in³) engine derived from the Type 43's unit. It was built from late 1927 through 1930.^[1]

Type 49

The Bugatti Type 49 was an improved Type 44 with a slightly bigger engine with double ignition and a cooling fan. Aluminium wheels were optional. A large proportion was originally supplied with enclosed bodywork but few remain in this form today as many have been re-bodied in a more sporting form. Produced from 1930 through 1934, about 470 examples were built.^[1] The Type 49 was the last of the early 8-cylinder single cam Bugatti line which began with the Type 30, though its gearbox would later be reused on the Type 55.

The Type 49 featured a straight-8 engine of 3.3 L (3257 cc/198 in³) displacement. Bore and stroke were 72 mm by 100 mm and three valves per cylinder were used with a single overhead camshaft.

Notes

1 2 3 4 Price, Barrie (2007). Bugatti The 8-cylinder Touring Cars 1920-1934 Types 28, 30, 38, 38a, 44 & 49. Dorchester, England: Veloce Publishing. p. 158. ISBN 9781901295955.
↑ David Williams,"Barn-find Bugatti Type 38 makes seven times its estimate at auction", The Daily Telegraph,12:23PM GMT 18 Nov 2010.

Related Research Articles

In automotive engineering a multi-valve or multivalve engine is one where each cylinder has more than two valves. A multi-valve engine has better breathing and may be able to operate at higher revolutions per minute (RPM) than a two-valve engine, delivering more power.

Delage is a French luxury automobile and racecar company founded in 1905 by Louis Delâge in Levallois-Perret near Paris; it was acquired by Delahaye in 1935 and ceased operation in 1953.

The MGA is a sports car that was produced by MG from 1955 until 1962.

The Bugatti Type 13 was the first true Bugatti car. Production of the Type 13, and later Types 15, 17, 22, and 23, began with the company's founding in 1910 and lasted through 1920, with 435 examples produced. Most road cars used an eight-valve engine, though five Type 13 racers had 16-valve heads, some of the first ever produced. The road cars became known as pur-sang ("thoroughbred") in keeping with Ettore Bugatti's feelings for his designs.

The Bugatti Type 35 is an iconic race car design produced by Bugatti at their Molsheim premises between 1924 and 1930. It was extremely successful when raced by the factory works team. It was also bought by a diverse roster of privateer clientele from around the world. It pioneered the concept of a holistically conceived, race-ready car available for purchase.

The Bugatti Type 41, better known as the Royale, is a large luxury car built by Bugatti from 1927 to 1933, With a 4.3 m (169.3 in) wheelbase and 6.4 m (21 ft) overall length, it weighs approximately 3,175 kg (7,000 lb) and uses a 12.763 litre (778 cu in) straight-eight engine. For comparison, against the Rolls-Royce Phantom VII, the Royale is about 20% longer, and more than 25% heavier. This makes the Royale one of the largest cars in the world. Furthermore, with the limited production run and the premium nature of the vehicle, it is also both one of the rarest and most expensive.

The Bugatti Type 46 and later Type 50 were large enclosed touring cars and along with the Type 50B racing version, were all produced in the 1930s. Their relative ubiquity and numbers, combined with their styling caused them to sometimes receive the appellation of being a Molsheim Buick.

The Bugatti Type 55 is a sports car produced by Bugatti from 1932 to 1935. It is a road-going version of the Type 51 Grand Prix car. A roadster, it had a 108.3 in (2750 mm) wheelbase and 1800 lb (816 kg) weight.

The MG P-type is a sports car that was produced by MG from 1934 to 1936. This 2-door sports car used an updated version of the Wolseley Motors-designed and made overhead camshaft, crossflow engine, used in the 1928 Morris Minor and previously fitted in the J-type Midget of 1932 to 1934, driving the rear wheels through a four-speed non-synchromesh gearbox. The chassis was a strengthened and slightly longer version of that used in the J-type with suspension by half-elliptic springs all round with rigid front and rear axles. Steering was initially by a Marles Weller and later a Bishop Cam system. The two-seat car had a wheelbase of 87 inches (2210 mm) and a track of 42 in (1,100 mm). Most cars were open two-seaters, but streamlined Airline coupé bodies were also made. The P-type was also available as a four-seater, a car that suffered from a lack of power and poor rear ground clearance. Whereas J, K and L-type MGs differentiated between versions with the use of numbers, with 1 indicating a four-seater and 2 a two-seater, this was not the case with the P-type, and there is no clue to the type in the name.

The Bentley 3 Litre was a car chassis manufactured by Bentley. The company's first, it was developed from 1919 and made available to customers' coachbuilders from 1921 to 1929. The Bentley was very much larger than the 1368 cc Bugattis that dominated racing at the time, but double the size of engine and strength compensated for the extra weight. The 4000 lb (1800 kg) car won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924, with drivers John Duff and Frank Clement, and again in 1927, this time in Super Sports form, with drivers S. C. H. "Sammy" Davis and Dudley Benjafield. Its weight, size, and speed prompted Ettore Bugatti to call it "the fastest lorry in the world", which was regarded as a compliment. Built in 3 main variants, Blue label, Red Label Speed models all carrying a 5-year warranty, and the coveted and rare Green Label 100 mph cars, which only carried a 12-month warranty reflecting the high state of tune.

Morris Cowley was a name given to various cars produced by Morris from 1915 to 1958.

The MG K-type Magnette is a motor car produced in the United Kingdom by MG from October 1932 to 1934.

Rudge Whitworth Cycles was a British bicycle, bicycle saddle, motorcycle and sports car wheel manufacturer that resulted from the merger of two bicycle manufacturers in 1894, Whitworth Cycle Co. of Birmingham, founded by Charles Henry Pugh and his two sons Charles Vernon and John, and Rudge Cycle Co. of Coventry.

The Rover 8 was a small single-cylinder 8 hp 1327 cc car made by the British Rover car company. It was Rover's first production car. It was remarkable for being supported by a backbone chassis rather than a conventional ladder frame. The first model was manufactured from 1904 to 1912. A Daimler-Knight sleeve valve engine option was available on the original model in 1911 and 1912.

The ALFA 40/60 HP is a road car and race car made by Italian car manufacturer ALFA. This model was made between 1913 and 1922 and was designed by Giuseppe Merosi, as were all other Alfas at that time. The 40/60 HP has a 6082 cc straight-four engine with overhead valves, which produced 70 PS (51 kW) and its top speed was 125 km/h (78 mph). The 40-60 HP Corsa racing version had 73 PS (54 kW) and a top speed of 137 km/h (85 mph), and it also won its own category in the Parma-Berceto race.

Egon Brütsch Fahrzeugbau, usually shortened to Brütsch, was a German automotive design and automaker based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg.

The Rover 16/50 and Rover 16 are mid-sized cars which were produced by Rover from 1926 to 1929 and non-continuously from 1936 to 1947 respectively.

The Daimler Double-Six sleeve-valve V12 was a piston engine manufactured by The Daimler Company Limited of Coventry, England between 1926 and 1938. It was offered in four different sizes for their flagship cars.

The Rhode was a British car made from 1921 to 1930. Mead and Deakin Ltd had started in business making cycle and motor cycle components. They also made the "Canoelet" sidecar. In 1912 they made at least two cyclecars under the name of Medea with 1244cc Chapuis-Dornier engines but these did not go into series production.

References

Ray Bonds (2003). The Illustrated Directory of Sports Cars. Motorbooks. ISBN 0-7603-1420-9.
Sujatha Menon, ed. (2004). Super Cars, Classics of Their Time . Quintet Publishing. ISBN 0-7607-6228-7.

External links

Type 38 Murphy Roadster, chassis number 38435: the only American-bodied Bugatti

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Price-1] 1 2 3 4 Price, Barrie (2007). Bugatti The 8-cylinder Touring Cars 1920-1934 Types 28, 30, 38, 38a, 44 & 49. Dorchester, England: Veloce Publishing. p. 158. ISBN 9781901295955.

[2] David Williams,"Barn-find Bugatti Type 38 makes seven times its estimate at auction", The Daily Telegraph,12:23PM GMT 18 Nov 2010.

[1]

[2]