1929 Bugatti Type 43

Ettore Bugatti and the vehicles which left his Molsheim factory quickly established a reputation for outstanding performance on the road or track. The foundation of Bugatti's reputation was founded on his family of eight-cylinder cars, the first of which was the Type 30, which appeared in 1922. The Type 30, with its 1,911cc displacement, shared its chassis, gearbox, and axle with the later four-cylinder Type 13 Brescia model. The inline eight-cylinder engine had a single overhead camshaft and three valves per cylinder. In a more advanced guise, it would power the Type 35 Grand Prix car, the Type 38 tourer and Type 43 sports car.

The Bugatti Type 43 was introduced near the close of 1926 and was, in essence, a road-going version of the company's most successful Grand Prix racing car, the Type 35. Beneath the bonnet and in front of the prominent horseshoe-shaped grille was a 2,262cc engine complete with Roots supercharger, introduced on the Type 35B, which was installed in a new chassis similar to that of the Grand Prix racer. The engine offered approximately 120 horsepower and gave the Type 43 a zero-to-sixty mph time of approximately twelve seconds. It was one of the first production cars capable of achieving speeds in excess of 100 mph. A larger radiator and brakes from the Type 38 were also fitted.

In Grand Prix configuration, the Type 43 was immensely successful in sports car racing, being campaigned by the factory and privateers.

The first seven cars left the assembly workshop in December of 1926, and by the spring of 1927, Bugatti was building approximately ten cars a month. Approximately half of the total production of 160 cars was on the road by the end of 1927. Over sixty examples were built in 1928, with the final 15 examples leaving the workshop before April 1929. Unsold examples resided in the factory workshops from 1930, partly due to their high sale price.

by Dan Vaughan

Sport 2/4 Tourer
Chassis number: 43278

In 1927 Bugatti introduced an updated version of the Type 35 with a larger supercharged engine. This 2.3-liter engine was also used in its new road car, the Type 43. The frame of the Type 43 was all-new and was similar in design to the racing type 35b. The Type 43 featured larger brakes and a larger radiator to make it more suitable for the road. The Bugatti Type 43A, introduced in 1929, was more luxurious and thus heavier. With its racing car pedigree, it was only natural for Bugatti to campaign the Type 43 and 43A in events like the Brooklands handicap races of the 1930s. One of only seventeen Type 43As, this car has been driven in events such as the Mille Miglia, and it won the Bugatti Molsheim Concours in 1999.

Sport 2/4 Tourer

The chassis of this Grand Sport Bugatti was completed in April of 1929, making it the penultimate 43A ever built. At the time, Bugatti was suffering from a serious economic downturn, and this car, along with the final car, was kept at the factor, with no apparent demand. Three years later, in 1932, the 43A was given a two-tone gray body with cycle wings, but it wasn't until 1942 that the car was purchased directly from the factory by Edouard Michel of Paris - at a greatly reduced price. The car enjoyed subsequent French ownership and was hidden during the war, making its way to the Montlhery Motor Museum in 1962 and the le Mans Museum in 1973. In 2009, owned by Manfred Dolleschel, the all-original 43A was involved in an accident during an International Bugatti Rally in Maremma, Italy. In 2014, the car was acquired by Jack Braam Ruben, who had it restored to its original factory configuration, only replacing the leather with reindeer hides salvaged from a shipwreck in 1786.

The Bugatti Type 43 was introduced in 1927 and would remain in production until 1930, with around 160 examples produced. It was powered by a detuned engine from the Type 35B Grand Prix and fitted with a supercharger offering 120 horsepower. It had a mid-mounted transmission with axles similar to the Type 38.

by Dan Vaughan