History of Bugatti Ettore. (2)

 In 1903, Bugatti designed the TYPE 5 which was a race car and an upgraded version of the TYPE 2. However, his boss didn’t appreciate that he devoted so much energy to the production of race cars and his contract was terminated in 1904. Bugatti made a few more cars before he founded his own company named automobiles Ettore Bugatti. The company was founded in 1909. That is more than 110 years ago.

 

The first real Bugatti was the TYPE 10. It was a small, lightweight car that was powerful enough to win races. In 1910 the Bugatti TYPE 13 was produced. It had have the appearance of a toy, but surprisingly the lightweight four-wheeled dwarf, outperformed many competitors in the Le Mans race and came in second at the event. This further established the name of the brand as a manufacturer of powerful automobiles. While the TYPE 13 can only reach 78 mph, It had exceptional handling, steering and braking. In total 2000 TYPE 13 units were made.

In 1912 the Bugatti TYPE 18 was launched. It was an extremely powerful racing car with a four-cylinder 5 L engine capable of reaching 99 mph. At the time that was an impressive TopSpeed since it was about the same speed as fighter planes can reach in the air. a special version of the car was named the “Black Bess”, which went down and motoring history as one of the first street legal supercars. In 2014 Bugatti made a special version of the Bugatti Veyron also named the “Black Bess” to honor the legendary car. This special model of the Veyron was priced at almost $3 million, making it one of the most expensive cars in the world. 

In 1913 Bugatti developed the bébé which was manufactured under license by Peugeot. The Peugeot bébé was a very small car, hence the name which is French for Baby. when it first appeared at Paris Motor Show attendees were greatly impressed by the modern car that was cheap, small and practical. The Bébé went on to become a huge success. In fact, more Bébé models were made than any other Bugatti model. In total 3,095 units were produced.

But then the First World War started. It stopped the production of Bugatti cars. Bugatti started designing engines for aircraft instead, since they were much needed in the war. In 1920, two years after the first world war had ended, a historical event happened when Ernest Friederich won Bugatti’s first ever major race at the Grand Prix and Le Mans. One year later an upgraded version of the TYPE 13 with 16 valves top four spots at a race in Brescia. From that point on, the 16-valve TYPE 13 was nicknamed the “Brescia”.

Another significant model was the TYPE 30, produced in 1922. It was Bugatti’s first touring car. The car was designed to be suitable for roads and racetracks. In total 600 TYPE 30’s were built. One year later Bugatti designed a cartoonish looking race car. However the short wheelbase made it difficult to control the car, and the car’s shape tended to generate lift rather than downforce. This resulted in a disappointing third-place finish at the French Grand Prix of 1923.

In 1924 Bugatti’s Golden years started with the legendary TYPE 35 race car. It was designed to be light, strong, fast and elegant. The TYPE 35 became one of the most successful racing cars of all time! Between 1924 and 1930, the legendary race car secured over 2,000 victories in various races.

In 1925 the Targa Florio was one of the toughest and most famous road races. Bugatti didn’t win this race just once, but an incredible 5 times in a row. The TYPE 35 could achieve speeds of over 134 mph. According to Bugatti “No other car was as fast, beautiful and safe as the eight-cylinder car” -Bugatti.