In a further highlight on 2009's agenda of centennial celebrations,
Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S. presented four Bugatti Veyron specials at
Villa d'Este Concorso d'Eleganza. These one off models are reminders of
Bugatti's glorious motor-racing history which played a central role in
popularising and ultimately establishing the myth which the brand
continues to enjoy to this day.
The Bugatti brand is almost inextricably linked to the Type 35. The
Type 35 Grand Prix was by far the most successful racing model. The
unmistakable radiator grille and eight-spoke aluminium wheels of the
Type 35 have become defining features of the Bugatti automobile. In its
day, the Grand Prix was also well ahead of its time in terms of
engineering ingenuity. The front axle design of this vehicle, which, for reasons of weight minimisation, is hollow,
is a true masterpiece of workmanship and was deemed nothing less than
revolutionary. Its springs were passed through the axle to produce a
high level of stability. The Grand Prix's brake drums were integrally
fitted into its lightweight aluminium wheels. Unfastening the central
wheel nut allowed the wheel to be easily removed within a matter of
seconds and the brake to be exposed. This was a crucial advantage at
the pit stop.
2000 wins in ten years
The blue racers made their first appearance on the race track at
the Grand Prix held by Automobil Club de France in Lyon in 1924. In the
decade that followed, they remained practically unchallenged thanks to
sophisticated manufacturing efforts, their lightweight design and easy
handling. During that ten-year era, they won almost 2000 races - more
than any other model ever has. Grand Prix races were highly fashionable
events in those days, and Bugatti was not the only brand with
considerable interest in substantiating the reputation of its products
by winning races. In fact, in the 1920s, Europe was regularly host to a
number of different races in different countries on a single weekend. The teams set up by different automobile manufacturers
competed at popular race circuits such as Targa Florio, Le Mans, Monza
and Spa as well as in Rome, Nice, Antibes and even a village in Alsace.
The main reason Bugatti won such an enormous number of races - on
the back of which successes the brand was also able to forge its image
- was the fact that Bugatti sold not only its normal sports and touring
cars to private buyers, but its racing cars too. Thus it was that its
automobiles took part in such a large number of Grand Prix events.
This bestowed upon Ettore Bugatti a double success. He was able on
the one hand to sell his racing cars expensively to wealthy private
buyers with a keen sporting ambition and, on the other, to capitalise
on their successes on international racing circuits - without actually
having to make a single investment in these "marketing activities". This stroke of genius by "Le Patron"
not only brought him immortal fame, but a substantial fortune as well.
A total of 350 legendary Type 35-series automobiles were ultimately
built - in a wide variety of versions. Those that survived their racing
days, accidents, World War II and all other risks over the years, have
become coveted and highly priced collectors' items.
Four Type 35 Grand Prix models - Four distinct personalities - Four Veyrons
Tradition being what it is, the Bugatti Veyron Specials built to
mark the 100th anniversary of the brand feature the racing colours of
the respective countries: blue for France, red for Italy, green for
England and white for Germany. Each of the four new Veyrons has a
specific "predecessor" in the form of an original Grand Prix Bugatti on
which it was modelled. These four historic race cars represent the
generation of legendary Bugatti Grand Prix racers which were piloted by
world-famous race-car drivers and which scored countless racing
victories in the 1920s and '30s. Each of the four Veyron Specials is
named after a Bugatti race-car driver of the 1920s and 30s. Jean-Pierre
Wimille has given the blue Veyron its name, Achille Varzi the red one,
Malcolm Campbell the green one and Hermann zu Leiningen the white
Veyron.
Jean-Pierre Wimille was one of the longest-serving drivers at
Bugatti. He only joined the team in Molsheim in 1933, but subsequently
remained loyal to the brand, ultimately driving home Bugatti's last-ever victory in 1947 at Bois de Boulogne in a 4.7-litre
Monoposto Type 59/50 B. Wimille's many previous successes included
winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1937 and 1939. Achille Varzi was a
member of the official Bugatti team from 1931 to 1933. He had already
achieved many successes since 1928 driving a private Type 35 C, then
later went on to win the Monaco Grand Prix, an event on Berlin's Avus
circuit and other races. As the setter of numerous world records for
speed, the name Malcolm Campbell is firmly established in racing
history. He also competed in countless "normal" races from 1911 and
1936, often piloting a Bugatti Type 39 A or Type 35, and he owned one
of the legendary Type 57 S street sports cars. Prinz Hermann zu
Leiningen's career driving Bugattis began in 1927 when he purchased a
Type 40 chassis, for which he had a racing body built. He went on to
win a number or races in a privately owned Type 37 A before eventually
standing in the spotlight of the international racing scene in a 35 C
for several years from 1930 onward.
$MYINF_3$
|
