4/29/2024
Molsheim
Bugatti Type 35: perfection through evolution
Launched a century ago, the Bugatti Type 35 stunned rivals not just once with its superior design and engineering, but many times due to a program of continuous improvement.
Ettore Bugatti was a man who did not fear setting himself a hard task. It was not just Bugatti’s exceptional design skills, but also his vision and bravery to defy conventional engineering principles of the time that delivered the Bugatti Type 35 – a car significantly ahead of its rivals in so many areas. It was also “Le Patron’s” willingness to push himself and the entire Bugatti team hard in pursuit of perfection.
Even after the Type 35 was launched in 1924, Bugatti still chose the hard road.
He was one of the first automobile manufacturers to understand the commercial
benefits of publicity gained by racing – and winning – on Europe’s famous motor
circuits and more established road tracks.
But although Bugatti was extremely confident in the ability of his new car, he
had no way of knowing that the Type 35 would go on to become the most successful
race car of all time with 2,500 victories in its active period.
What Ettore Bugatti did know for certain was that his rivals would not stand
still and that he could not rest. He must continue to develop the Type 35 to
deliver even greater performance.
Equipped with an eight-cylinder 1,991cc engine, in 1924 the first Type 35
mustered 90PS in race specification. By early 1926, the engine had been enlarged
to 2,262cc. Badged Type 35T for Targa, the resultant performance upgrade enabled
the new car to win the great Targa Florio road race in Italy, chased home by two
smaller-engined Type 35 sister cars.
Despite the victory, Ettore Bugatti knew that even more performance would be
required for the future. And he also knew, in his heart, that that performance
could not be unlocked solely by increasing the capacity of the naturally
aspirated eight-cylinder engine.
“It’s no secret Ettore Bugatti’s first preference was for naturally aspirated
engines and that he was not initially an enthusiast of supercharging because
they were relatively inefficient,” explains Luigi Galli, Specialist for Heritage
and Certification at Bugatti. “However, what may be less well known is that
despite his preference for naturally aspirated engines, Bugatti was looking to
the future and to forced induction, using superchargers, even before the Type 35
made its race debut in Lyon in August 1924.
“In fact, Bugatti applied for French patent number 576.182 for a ‘Compresseur ou
pompe à palettes’ on 22 January 1924, for a rotary vane design which could
deliver extra power on-demand when engaged by the driver, by forcing pressurized
air into the carburetor. And one thing was certain, if Bugatti was going to use
a supercharger, then he was going to do it his way.”
As a result, Ettore Bugatti developed his own Roots-type supercharger with
prominent Italian engineer Edmond Moglia, but opted for a three-rotor
configuration instead of the two-rotor design that was more common at the time.
The supercharger was mounted on the engine’s offside. A pressure relief valve
was mounted above the manifold and vented excess boost pressure through a
corresponding hole cut into the bonnet.
In a further innovative step, the engine exhaust inlet manifold was heated by
engine coolant. This meant that it warmed up much more quickly, for greater
efficiency, while contributing to greater cooling capacity for the engine
itself, a principle which is still deployed in engine construction today.
Arriving in late 1926, the Type 35TC, named for Targa Compressor, evolved into
the Type 35B in 1927. Represented by a larger radiator and cowling to allow for
greater cooling, known as the ‘Miramas’ design, it produced up to 130PS,
sufficient to propel the car to a top speed of more than 205 km/h (150 mph).
Further development of the car followed and by late 1930 the Type 35B had
evolved to what many regard as its ultimate specification, with a twin-cam,
two-valve per-cylinder engine. It also featured a twin fuel filler cap, upgraded
suspension, wheels, brakes and tires and a lower-mounted supercharger relief
valve. Bugatti’s determination to leave no detail overlooked in the pursuit of
ultimate performance led to fine-tuning of every element of the engine’s
combustion system, including piston and cylinder head sculpting and even the use
of aero grade fuel to deliver 140PS.
Today, at Molsheim, inside the Bugatti Atelier, every Bugatti model is hand
assembled with the same relentless precision that Ettore applied to every detail
of the Type 35. A century later and Bugatti’s designers and engineers are still
pushing themselves exceptionally hard to develop the finest automobiles in the
world.
