Bugatti Type 35

Bugatti Type 35 at a glance

Lyon 1924: the debut

Ettore Bugatti presented the Type 35 at the Grand Prix de l'ACF (French Grand Prix) in Lyon in 1924. The debut was spoiled by poorly vulcanised Dunlop tyres. English Wikipedia still sees the car as a pioneer, a race-ready car designed as a whole and sold to customers who wanted to race it.

The look became a Bugatti signature. An arch- or egg-shaped radiator sat at the front of an aluminium body on a steel ladder frame. The tapering tail is often called the "Bordino tail", possibly inspired by Pietro Bordino's modified Fiat 804. The background of the factory and its founder is told in our history of pre-war Bugatti.

Straight-eight engine

The engine developed from the Type 29 and Type 30 units. The eight cylinders had a bore of 60 mm, and a single overhead camshaft, driven by a vertical shaft, worked two inlet valves and one exhaust valve per cylinder. In the original Type 35, a stroke of 88 mm gave 1,991 cc. The crankshaft ran in five roller bearings, which allowed up to 6,000 rpm and an output of up to 67 kW (90 hp); German Wikipedia gives 70 kW (95 PS).

Later versions changed the formula. The 35T for the Targa Florio used a 100 mm stroke for 2,262 cc, above the two-litre Grand Prix limit, with plain bearings. The 35C added a Roots supercharger, despite Ettore Bugatti's dislike of forced induction, and produced nearly 95 kW (128 bhp). The 35B combined the 2.3-litre engine with a larger supercharger for 103 kW (138 bhp), the most of any version. It had more torque but revved lower and used more fuel, so production went back to the 35C.

With about 750 kg, the Type 35 had roughly 89 kW per tonne and the 35B about 137 kW per tonne. Our power-to-weight calculator compares that with modern sports cars.

Chassis, wheels and brakes

The Type 35 is credited with the first use of cast alloy wheels. German Wikipedia describes them as cast aluminium with eight flat spokes, an integral brake drum, a detachable rim and Rudge centre-lock fixing. The front axle was hollow to reduce unsprung weight, and the springs passed through it, a detail that became a Bugatti trademark. At the rear, quarter-elliptic springs and trailing arms located a solid axle.

The four-speed gearbox, separate from the engine and without synchromesh, had its lever on the outside right of the body. Cable-operated drum brakes on all four wheels had a balancing mechanism, and the handbrake was a separate outer lever. Worm-gear steering needed only one turn of the wheel from lock to lock. The radiator had no fan, so the engine tended to overheat after a run, and the dashboard carried an eight-day Doxa clock.

Starting a Type 35 is a ritual. German Wikipedia describes it step by step: switch on the battery, pressurise the fuel tank with a hand pump, open the fuel tap, set the ignition to "late" with a lever on the dashboard and raise the idle with a hand wheel. Then open the left side of the bonnet to flood both carburettors and turn the engine a few times with the starting handle. Once it runs, the driver lowers the idle, sets the ignition to "early" and warms the engine slowly. First gear sits to the left and back.

Type 35, 35A, 35T, 35C and 35B

Production totals differ by source. English Wikipedia's figures for the Type 35 family add up to about 330 cars, while German Wikipedia quotes estimates from about 200 to about 340. The Type 35A was the cheaper customer car, nicknamed "Tecla" and sometimes called "Course Imitation". Top speeds also vary in German Wikipedia's sources: 180–190 km/h for the original car and up to about 210–215 km/h for the 35B.

Racing record

English Wikipedia reports more than 1,000 race wins in the car's era and about 14 wins a week at its peak. The 1926 world title followed 351 wins and 47 records in the two previous years. Drivers included Tazio Nuvolari, Emilio Materassi, Aymo Maggi and Louis Chiron, who won in Italy, Rome, San Sebastián and Spain in 1928.

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