1931 Bugatti Type 40A

Ettore Bugatti ('Le Patron') quickly established an unrivaled reputation for building cars with outstanding performance and durability. The world's greatest racing drivers enjoyed numerous successes aboard the Molsheim factory's products, proving their mettle against the best the world had to offer.

The path that took Italian-born engineer Ettore Bugatti to the pinnacle of the automotive industry began at De Dietrich, Mathis and Deutz. From there, he established his own factory in 1910 at Molsheim in Alsace, which was then part of Germany. He had designed the Type 10 while with Deutz (the Type 10 was the tenth of his designs), and it would serve as the prototype for the first Molsheim-built Bugatti: the Type 13. Introduced in 1910, it was the first Bugatti production car. Beneath the bonnet was a four-cylinder, single-overhead-camshaft, 8-vale engine displacing 1,327cc and paired with a four-speed gearbox. The short-wheelbase chassis was clothed with simple open two-seater coachwork. The design and construction evolved through TYpes 15, 17, 22 and 23 until approximately 1920, by which time 435 of all types had been made. These compact and lightweight vehicles were endowed with advanced engineering principles upon which Ettore Bugatti developed his entire range, culminating with world-beating, Grand Prix and Le Mans-winning sporting cars.

The Bugatti Type 40

The Bugatti Type 40 was introduced in May 1926 serving as a replacement for the company's previous 16-valve Brescia touring model, equipped with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine sourced from the Type 37. The Bugatti Type 37 was introduced near the close of 1925, and unlike its eight-cylinder Type 35 sibling, it came equipped with a four-cylinder unit. The lightweight and potent 1.5-liter engine gave the Type 37 a top speed of around 90 mph. Even more horsepower was extracted with the addition of a Roots-Type supercharger, birthing the Type 37A, which had a top speed of 122 mph. Of the roughly 286 examples of the Type 37 produced, 76 were left the factory with superchargers.

After 780 had been built, a successor, Type 40A, with a larger, 1,627 cc engine, was launched in March 1931. A total of around 32 examples of the Type 40A were constructed. The larger displacement engine was achieved with one block from the eight-cylinder Type 49 engine, with its bore enlarged to 72 mm. It had three valves per cylinder, an aluminum head, two intakes, and one exhaust.

The Type 40 was offered with standard four-seat coupe or roadster body styles.

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2023