The Bugatti family were certainly a talented bunch. Carlo, the patriach was a designer of extraordinary furniture and jewellery whilst sons Rembrandt and Ettore were sculptor and automobile designer/manufacturer respectively. The picture taken at the HQ of the Bugatti Trust at Prescott near Cheltenham shows the radiator of one of the world's largest and rarest cars, the Bugatti Royale. Truly a leviathan, the 12.7 litre cars of which only six were built were a bit of a white elephant for Bugatti and he found them difficult to sell, even to the super rich of the day. Powered by an exquisitely sculpted and engineered motor it had but three speeds in its rear-axle gearbox of which top was only really necessary. Despite the size it looks perfectly proportioned in the metal with wonderful detail touches such as hand scraped finishes to the engine castings and sublime (and enormous) cast aluminium wheels. This example is now owned by the current Bugatti manufacturers, Volkswagen and is maintained by English specialists. The nice touch of using an elephant as a radiator mascot was, I like to think a touching memorial to Ettore's brother Rembrandt whose work it is - poor Rembrandt took his own life in 1916 at the age of 31. Ettore Bugatti was quite an extraordinary man and ran his factory from a chateau at Molsheim where he could also indulge his love of fine horses and carriage driving. His automobiles, among them the beautiful Type35 racing car were known as 'Pur Sang' or 'pure blood' just like his nags. The adoption of the eliptical logo with a capital 'E' reversed and conjoined with a 'B' over the name Bugatti on a red ground is iconic, and to carry the equine theme through, most Bugatti radiators were horseshoe-shaped; simple, distinctive and beautifully made of German silver. If ever an automobile designer got it right, it was Bugatti. The smallest details like bolts manufactured with their own distinctive built-in washers, were his trademark. Ever resourceful and pragmatic, the manufacturing capability was there for The Royale, so he built more engines and created innovative railcars for the French government. These were in use up until the war setting speed records along the way and utilised four of the mighty Royale engines...what I would have given to have stood next to a fast stretch of line to hear one go by on its open exhausts. After the death of his beloved son Jean, Bugatti carried on with many projects, working on new designs throughout the second world war and indeed created the exact opposite of the Royale in the Type 72, a 12.6cc supercharged cyclemotor designed for use in post-war austerity France...like it's big brother it never caught on. No detail was too small to escape 'Le Patron's' eye from the hinges on the doors at Molsheim to the design of carriage harness, to his clothes. I give you Ettore Bugatti - a jolly clever man.
19 comments:
Chassis No 3 is in the Henry Ford Museum at Dearborn; one can't get too close but I have been lucky to have gawped at it on a couple of occasions....it is huge! I also saw chassis 6 at the Imperial Palace, Las Vegas. Again, one couldn't get too close and I remember that, as I leaned across to get a look at a detail, a security guard warned me to "Step Back"!!
(Thanks for the memories Jill)
And the Edsers replica roadster at The Schlumpf Collection is a joy...doesn't look big until you see someone sitting in it. I swear you could have sat in this one at Prescott, hardly any security...I noticed that the glass had 'bullet proof' etched into it. Jill.
Fabulous stuff, thankyou.
It never pays to be a gob-sh11te does it? Your great blog really got me thinking, and it seems the Harrah collection at one time had both Chassis 1 (which I guess was the one you saw at Prescott?) AND Chassis 6! Which of these I saw...can't remember; I just recall huge long bonnets and that unmistakable Elephant mascot.
Great Creature Feature that elephant. Been thinking about other pachyderms in marketing. Can only think of Fremlins Brewery in Maidstone.
There was a big concrete Elephant in a factory yard, somewhere near Frimley, not far off the A30. But that was over 30 years ago! And a huge, oil-dripping, farting Elephant in a yard near Queen's Road Leicester.........
This is chassis 41.111 rebodied by Binder and was indeed in The Harrah collection. VW purchased it ten years ago for a rumoured 20 million dollars.
Pachyderm, what a splendid word Mr.A! From the dim and very distant past I think I recall Elephant Brand matches and also Tusker...a type of African lager.
Yes, I remember Tusker lager, though I'm no expert on lager, except for the Czech stuff, but that's another story. Thanks for the Bugatti - a noble machine and a fascinating story. I actually live just a few miles from Prescott, and one of the pleasures of being here is seeing all kinds of exotic machinery being driven around the local roads - not that they'd let that exotic monster out on the streets I presume.
What a beautiful area Philip. Sitting in the orchard at Prescott and looking across the valley is just inspiring. We've stayed in Winchcombe when we've visited, and any trip in those parts is fabulous...either on foot or in a period vehicle. The Royale is fully road legal and takes part in all sorts of events around the world...goodness knows what the insurance premium is!
Remarkable, Jon: Winchcombe is where I live.
How do you live with such beauty? Easily is probably the answer. You can wear that place like a favourite overcoat.
Oh, we get by, Jon. The Winchcombe overcoat is a bit threadbare in places, but that only adds to its charm and its comfort.
Cor. Didn't know half of this Bugatti stuff. Excellent. The brother of a very good friend of ours bought a T35 in cardboard boxes in the sixties and rebuilt it. He was/is an eye surgeon who was inspired to take up his chosen career having popped his own eye back in after a car crash. Yeuch. He went on to build his very own aero-engined 'vintage' racer, using a twenties truck chassis he found in the bush (he lives in Australia) and, I think, a Maybach engine he had 'lying around'. 120mph at 1,800 rpm and all that.
Nice to hear from you Fred. It's a lucky man who'll find a T35 in boxes today - fantastic! There is quite a movement within the Vintage Sports Car Club to build (mainly) Edwardian aero-engined specials using a variety of powerplants - Curtiss V8, Hispano-Suiza, and my particular favourite, the vintage 24 litre 'broad arrow' configured Napier engined Bentley. Oooh, sorry, an oily anorak moment!
Bloke in our village has got a Bugatti.
Does he use it Mr.A? or is it stood up on blocks in a lonely garage waiting for me to have my offer of £10 accepted to take it away?
I like the message subtly displayed in small print on the rear offside of the Bentley Napier, which asks " If seen being driven responsibly,please report as stolen" if my memory serves.
Ah, Mr Retronaut, I was privileged to witness the Bentley Napier in action at Silverstone last month. The redoubtable Chris Williams arranged to spin the beast before our very eyes in most spectacular fashion. He used to be a very talented sidecar racer but told me that his wrists were no longer strong enough so some years ago he bought the Bentley in order to have something less exhausting to race!
Quite,JD,but I wonder if he succeeded entirely in his ambition ,for painted either side of the bonnet,under the car`s name and type,are the words "The Ultimate Laxative" !
"Brown Trousers,I think,today Jeeves. I feel like a spin in the motor!"
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