Bugatti Type 13

Bugatti Type 13 at a glance

Development and production history

Ettore Bugatti, born in Milan in 1881, had designed cars for other companies before he built his own. He was head of technology at De Dietrich in Niederbronn from 1902, worked with Émile Mathis on cars sold as "Mathis-Hermes (Licence Bugatti)" from 1904 to 1906. In 1907 he became production director at Deutz in Cologne. While employed at Deutz he built a small car of his own in the basement of his house: the Type 10, with a 1,131 cc overhead-camshaft four and two valves per cylinder.

In 1909 Bugatti founded Automobiles E. Bugatti in Molsheim, then a German town in Alsace, and the Type 10 was developed into the Type 13. German Wikipedia records about five cars completed in late 1910 and 75 in 1911. The first known competition entry of a Bugatti was at the Gaillon hill climb on 21 October 1910, driven by M. Darritchon.

Alongside the short Type 13, Bugatti built the Type 15 on a 2,400 mm wheelbase and the Type 17 on 2,550 mm. The Types 22 and 23 of 1913 were updates with larger bodies and an oval radiator. In the same year Ettore Bugatti also designed a small car for another maker, the Type 19 Bébé, which Peugeot built under licence from 1913 to 1916; 3,095 were made.

The First World War stopped production in Alsace. Ettore Bugatti took two complete cars to Milan and buried parts for three more near the factory; after the war five racing cars were built from the remaining parts. Molsheim returned to French control in 1919, and the 16-valve engine became the basis of the post-war cars.

Design and engineering

The Type 13 was a small, light car for its period. English Wikipedia gives a weight of about 300 kg and a wheelbase of about 2 m; German Wikipedia lists 2,000 mm and a track of 1,150 mm, with an overall length of 2.80–3.00 m. The four-speed gearbox with reverse had straight-cut gears without synchromesh and was mounted separately from the engine; third gear was direct.

The engine was a water-cooled inline-four with a single overhead camshaft. Early crankshafts ran in three bronze plain bearings; the last and most powerful versions were offered with ball bearings. Front-wheel brakes were added only in 1926.

Engines and drivetrain

With twin Zenith carburettors the 16-valve 1.4-litre engine gave 22 kW (30 hp) at 4,500 rpm, and English Wikipedia gives a top speed of 125 km/h. It also describes the Brescia as the first full-production car with a multivalve engine. Our power converter translates the PS figures into kW, and the power-to-weight calculator compares the Type 13's ratio with any modern car.

Bugatti Type 13 specifications

Types 15, 17, 22 and 23

Racing: Le Mans 1911 and Brescia 1921

At the 1911 Grand Prix de France at Le Mans, Ernest Friderich drove a small Bugatti to second place after seven hours, behind the far larger FIAT of Victor Hémery. In 1920 Bugatti entered three cars in the voiturette race at Le Mans. Friderich won, while the leading car of Pierre de Vizcaya was disqualified because Ettore Bugatti had touched the radiator cap during the race. In 1921 Bugatti cars took the first four places at the voiturette Grand Prix at Brescia in Italy, and from then on all four-valve-per-cylinder models were called "Brescia". Forty racing versions of the Type 13 were built.

The Type 13 in numbers

Simple arithmetic on the figures above shows the car's character. With about 22 kW and about 300 kg, the 16-valve car had about 14 kg per kilowatt, from an engine of only 1.4 litres. The step from eight to sixteen valves roughly doubled power, from 13 kW to about 22 kW, with the same 1,368 cc displacement. The roughly 2,000 Brescias built in six years outnumbered all the pre-war eight-valve cars more than four to one.

Which Type 13 to look for

• For history: one of the early eight-valve Type 13s of 1910–1914.
• For performance: a 16-valve Brescia with the 1,453 or 1,496 cc engine.
• For touring: a long-wheelbase Type 17 or Type 23.
• For racing heritage: one of the 40 racing cars, or a car with a documented race history.

The company's story is told in our history of Bugatti and the extraordinary history of Bugatti; today's models are in the Bugatti catalogue, and more early cars in classic cars.

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