Celebrating the Bugatti Type 50S and its unparalleled racing heritage – Bugatti Newsroom

Deriving its essence from the celebrated Type 46, the Type 50S represented the pinnacle of Bugatti’s high-capacity engine line. Where Bugatti had previously been successful with light, nimble cars like the Type 35, the late ’20s and early ’30s were a performance-focused arms race. Bugatti’s innovation in this field was a new five-liter supercharged eight-cylinder engine – its first engine with double overhead camshaft – producing approximately 250 PS.

Fitting this revolutionary engine to the Type 50S created the ultimate road car; comfortable and luxurious, as well as sleek and stylish but with the kind of performance expected from modern racing cars. Such was the potential of the Type 50S, which Jean Bugatti believed could take on the most grueling race in the world – the 24 Hours of Le Mans – and win.

Bugatti entered three different chassis in the 1931 race, each finished in black instead of the traditional French racing blue as a thin rock in the French government that refused to fund the event, but it also worked as an image metaphor for new methods. to race cars for Bugatti.

The entire set of three cars showed great potential, with lightning speed down the long range. With a possible win, one of the entries suffered a tire failure at high speed and unfortunately crashed out of the circuit. The remaining two cars – including chassis no. 50177 that inspired this modern iteration of the Super Sport – retired by Bugatti to avoid further accidents.

The story of 50177, which was decorated with the number ‘5’ when it raced at Le Mans in 1931, was the catalyst that sparked the creative journey for the customer and Jascha as the vision of the Chiron Super Sport was created. their minds and begin to come alive on paper.

The bold, upright grille with its repeating square design – complete with the number ‘5’ painted in the center – became the centerpiece of the front redesign. The Chiron Super Sport’s grille was redesigned with a nod to the historic car, using the same design that has been relentlessly engineered for all the aerodynamic and cooling needs of a 440 km/h vehicle.

Just like the previous one, this Sur Mesure creation is finished in black and bold, with a contrasting ‘5’ painted on the sides of the car. The ‘Le Mans 1931’ lettering is located just ahead of the rear wheel arch, and a representation of the Circuit de la Sarthe – every twist, turn and straight lined up as the Type 50S would have seen it in 1931 – is hidden on the underside. of rear spoiler, carefully designed and applied by Bugatti experts.

Central to the Type 50S was its innovative dual overhead cam engine, housed within the engine bay almost as much as the car itself. Finished with an engine-turned decorative pattern known as “Perlée”, this kind of attention to detail was a hallmark of the Bugatti brand, and of Ettore Bugatti himself. Jascha and the client paid attention to these details, perfectly embodying the values ​​of the brand – beauty in every detail.

The process of recreating the engine-turned look to a scale that met Sur Mesure’s uncompromising approach to quality was not an easy one. Each circular structure had to fit together at the exact same level, each element of its design had to be perfectly proportioned and designed to withstand extreme heat and daily wear for not just years, but decades and generations. As with every aspect of the Sur Mesure commission, what appears to be simple is the result of a long and difficult process that guarantees a perfect finish over time.

Appearing on both engine covers, the “Perlée” finish protrudes from the car as a constant reminder of its inspiration. The storage area inside the center console is now finished in a subtly machined engine-turned material, emblazoned with ‘Le Mans 1931’, and the knee pads on either side of the console mimic the design, along with an outline of the Circuit de la Sarthe. .

The black interior – highlighted by aluminum and “Perlée” accents – is accentuated by the optional Sky View glass roof, giving occupants a taste of the open-air excitement of the original Type 50S. The same original car has been recreated with a hand-applied representation of its exploits at Le Mans on each door panel, with ‘Le Mans 1931’ hand-embroidered on the driver and passenger headliners.

“The Type 50 dynasty helped establish Ettore and Jean’s pioneering vision in the early 1930s for powerful, powerful Bugatti-engined cars operating at a high level of performance,” said Jascha Straub, Chief Designer Sur Measure. “The Type 50S – and especially chassis 50177 – are central parts of our history. To have a customer so passionate in his desire to pay homage to this racing legend is a privilege. He and I talked for hours, over months , about the ways in which we can create an authentic character, paying attention to every detail to ensure that it is true to the legend of the Type 50S, but also finished to the incomparable standards of the Bugatti brand.”

Hendrik Malinowski, Managing Director, Bugatti Automobiles, said: “It may not have the characteristics of an Atlantic, a Royale or a Type 35 but we managed to share our joy of this car with a customer who recognized the importance of the Type 50S. Once again, the Sur Mesure team led by Jascha Straub has presented a unique design project together, using the passion of our experts and the skill of our craftsmen to create a love letter to the famous heroes. It is not just a modern design cult but it is the continuation of a story that began almost a century ago.”

Bugatti Automobiles would like to thank the Stiftung Nationales Automuseum – The Loh Collection in Dietzhölztal, Germany, for the generous loan of the original photo of the Bugatti Type 50S chassis 50177 with the Chiron Super Sport “Hommage Type 50S” on its premises. The Loh Collection charts 135 years of automotive history through a display of 150 rare and beautiful cars, including a number of iconic Bugatti models. As well as this important piece of Bugatti racing history, the Loh Collection also houses the impressive Type 57C Aravis, Type 57C Atalante and Veyron Super Sport. Visit www.nationalesautomuseum.de discover more.