making a champion – Bugatti Newsroom

With the vision and skill that marked every project he turned his hand to, Ettore Bugatti ensured that his Type 35 was a true racing car. For drivers and onlookers, all it took was one lovely look at the well-tuned eight-cylinder machine to see that it was a true example of form-defining work.

Yet the Type 35 – which would claim more than 2,500 victories and podium finishes during a career that spanned more than 10 years – didn’t always have everything going its way. In fact, his first tournament was full of challenges. Five Type 35s were entered in the 1924 Grand Prix in Lyon, a race held by the Automobile Club de France over 35 laps of the 23.1 km road circuit. The sixth – the original model – was preserved.

The cars were driven from Molsheim to Lyon without encountering any problem. During the exercise, the stone guard in front of the radiator and the cow in front of the driver were tied together with a thermometer in the radiator cap, but no issues or concerns were raised. And so, once the race got underway, drivers Jean Chassagne, Pierre de Vizcaya, Leonico Garnier, Ernest Friderich and Bartolomeo “Meo” Costantini could not have predicted the problems they would face.

But it wasn’t the car itself that had the first issue on the track: the special tires made for the Type 35 would prove problematic, with the first failure occurring on the first lap, on de Vizcaya’s car. The worst was to come in the third lap, when the pedal was separated from the side wall, setting the history of the game that would happen in front of 100,000 spectators who were on the track.

More failures occurred, sometimes mixing it with sheer bad luck. Parts of the tread that had come off Chassagne’s tires got caught in the steering wheel, while Costantini – who also had cooling problems due to a leaking joint in the radiator overflow pipe – had the misfortune of a piece of tread around the gear lever. . . This bent the pole, and also meant that Costantini could not choose 2^n.d or 4^th gear, causing damage to the gearbox, and, ultimately, his retirement from racing. He was rewarded with the fastest lap at least, showing not only his courage, determination and skill, but also the inherent qualities of the Type 35.

But more bad luck was in store for the Bugatti team. Several other drivers were forced to retire as the race progressed, with Chassagne, the highest placed of them all, finishing seventh. An investigation after the race revealed the tire problems were caused by manufacturing defects. They were not disturbed properly – a process in which they are heated to release the tire to eliminate its waste properties. As a result, they could not withstand the stresses of racing.

Although not a test that Ettore Bugatti would have wanted, the failure proved the strength of the Type 35’s lightweight aluminum wheels. Reporting on ‘Grand Prix Lessons’, following the Lyon race, Engine he observed that: “Contrary to expectation, these not only stopped in the race, but showed no signs of the terrible blows which they must have received from running so much on the curb, caused by burst tires.”

Following a specification change by the supplier, Ettore Bugatti wrote in a letter that he was driving 520 kilometers from Strasbourg to Paris in a Type 35 with new tires – at an average speed of around 100 kilometers per hour. Confident of the fundamental integrity of the car, and the success that would follow, he continued to say: “Ten of these cars have been built. Almost all are sold to customers. Some have already been released and are a joy to their owners. One can easily use them in the city as in any race. I hope in the next occasion to make a better display of the quality of my construction.”

The opportunity came at the Grand Prix in San Sebastian. This proved a more successful ride, with Costantini once again setting the fastest lap, moving up to second place. With the teething problems behind it, the Type 35 quickly transformed into an uncontested race winner. There was no stopping Bugatti now.

Success on the circuit was only part of the supercar’s success: it was a commercial success as well, enabling Bugatti to sell the Type 35 to customers after the race’s winning weekend. As its story grew, it was further improved through a series of upgrades making it more powerful, faster, and even more competitive. The stage was set for what would become the most successful race car of all time.

“Success in motor racing is not only achieved in the heat of competition: it is often born from early failure. Ettore Bugatti knew the potential of the Type 35, using a light and fast approach at a time when most manufacturers were competing with large and complex racing cars with a great engine. But rarely is something born perfect; perfection comes as a result of recognizing and improving upon failure. And in embracing the important lessons learned in its first race that day in August 1924, the Type 35 would prove itself to be an unparalleled racing car.”