1932 Bugatti Type 55

Ettore Arco Isidoro Bugatti was born in Milan in 1881 and founded Automobiles E. Bugatti in 1909 in the then-German town of Molsheim in the Alsace region of what is now France. His early automobiles focused on reducing weight instead of increasing engine size, which Ettore correctly believed provided better fuel economy, acceleration, braking, and road-holding characteristics.

In 1924, at the Grand Prix of Lyon, Bugatti introduced the Type 35 Grand Prix which weighed a mere 1,500 lbs. Under the graceful bonnet was an overhead-camshaft straight-eight engine which helped Bugatti achieve over 2,000 race victories by 1927. The Bugatti Type 51 model followed, using design and engineering cues from Harry Miller's Packard Cable racing specials. The 2.3-liter supercharged twin-cam Grand Prix car continued to expand the company's racing successes well into the 1930s.

Jean Bugatti was the eldest son of Ettore and, by the late 1920s, had become an integral part of the company and had demonstrated his vehicle design abilities. His body design skills matched his father's engineering talents, helping the Bugatti Company become one of the greatest names in automobile manufacturing. By 1932, at the age of twenty-three years, he created most of the design for the company's Type 41 Royale. Additionally, he designed four bodies for the Type 57, the Ventoux, Stelvio, Atalante, and Atlantic models. More than just a talented artist, he displayed his engineering skills by working on new independent suspension systems to replace solid front axles and twin-cam engine applications. While Ettore was conservative and preferred tried-and-true technology, Jean was more forward-thinking and sought new technical innovations. Jean proposed the Type 55 'Supersport' that catered to Bugatti's most demanding clientele.

The Bugatti Type 55, introduced in 1931 at the Paris Auto Show, employed the same deep-sided frame chassis as the 16-cylinder Type 45 and Type 47 Grand Prix cars, and the 4.9-liter Type 54. It was given the Type 51's supercharged engine and most examples received the four-speed gearbox from the contemporary Type 49. The top speed was in excess of 110 mph. This was the first-and-only time the 2.3-liter supercharged engine was used in a road-going car. The reverse quarter-elliptic rear springing and front axle arrangement hailed from the company's most successful Grand Prix cars.

Bugatti offered the Type 55 as a rolling chassis or could be fitted with one of three factory bodies that included a coupe, cabriolet, and Roadster. All three of the factory bodies were designed by Jean Bugatti.

Thirty-eight examples of the Super Sport Bugattis left the Molsheim works between 1932 and 1935, with 14 wearing the Jean Bugatti Roadster coachwork. Although these production figures appear low, especially when compared to the Type 43, the Type 55 was a much higher-priced car built for Bugatti's elite clientele. They were essentially the supercar of its era using the race-proven mechanicals of Bugatti's most legendary race cars.

by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2020