1927 Bugatti Type 43 Boattail Tourer

Having worked for nearly ten years with such notable firms as DeDietrich, Mathis, and Deutz, Ettore Bugatti established his firm in 1909. He began with the Type 13, a 1327cc overhead cam four-cylinder model. One of his notable early successes was the Bebe made by Peugeot to Bugatti's design. Prior to World War I, he built four-cylinder ranging from 1368cc to 5027cc, first with eight valves and later with sixteen. In 1913 he produced a 2906cc straight eight with his first production eight-cylinder model, the 1990cc Type 30 in 1922. It was 1924, however, when Bugatti produced the car for which he would become most famous, the legendary Type 35. The Type 35 is credited with 1,851 racing victories in 1925, 1926, and 1927, a remarkable record even today.

The Type 43 arrived in mid-1927, its grand sport body offering seating for four. It is powered by a 2.3-liter supercharged straight-eight engine as used in the Type 35 Grand Prix car. Developing a slightly reduced 120 horsepower at 5,000 RPM, it was virtually identical to its racing counterpart, though it had a conventional sump in place of the tubed variety. The final Type 43 was produced in February 1935. A total of 160 examples were produced, no doubt influenced by the combined effects of the world depression and the fact that Bugatti had switched to engines with double overhead camshafts.

This numbers-matching example was restored in France in 1983-1984.