1924 Bugatti Type 35

It was from 1924 onwards that the Bugatti Type 35 caused a worldwide sensation. With the newly designed sports car, the powerful eight-cylinder engine, the sophisticated front axle, and the light aluminum wheels, Bugatti was to dominate race tracks worldwide in the coming years. No matter whether on circuits or road races: the Bugatti Type 35 is considered a technical masterpiece, nearly impossible to be beaten.

For the first time, a double roller-bearing and triple ball-bearing crank operation was used, which allowed the engine with the eight pistons to rotate at up to 6000 rpm. Thanks to two instead of one carburetor, the output of the initially 2.0-liter engine increased to up to 95 hp, and the power was transmitted via a wet multi-plate clutch. The first Type 35 drove faster than 190 km/h and easily passed all its competitors. In the later evolution model, the Type 35 B, with a 2.3-liter eight-cylinder and supercharger, the power increased to up to 140 hp and the top speed to over 215 km/h. In 1924, Bugatti used the Type 35 in mountain races such as the one in Gometz-le-Châtel near Paris, where the open sports car demonstrated its power by being the first to race through the finish line, leaving all the other participants behind. Its elegant lines also make it the most beautiful racing car of the era.

The Type 35 entered the Targa Florio race in Sicily for the first time in 1925 and immediately scored a victory. Four more times, models of the Type 35 arise as winners in this long-distance race on public mountain roads. It was the toughest and most notorious street race in the world. Overall, the Type 35 won around 2,000 races by the early 1930s, making it the most successful racing car ever. Ettore Bugatti, therefore, called his creation the 'forefather of a breed of thoroughbred racing horses from Molsheim - a real thoroughbred.'

Source - Bugatti