1926 Bugatti Type 30

Description

‘Bugattis encapsulate concepts of engineering which, once seen, change your ideas radically and definitively. Drive them, and you realise that each car is form and engineering in equilibrium, and a work of art.’ – William Stobbs, Les Grandes Routières. Introduced in 1922, the Type 30 Bugatti has a special place in motoring history, for it was the first small straight-eight to go into production and the first to use Bugatti’s classic single-overhead-cam engine, one of the most famous automobile power units of all time. Typical of the time, the Bugatti eight was a long-stroke design of 60x88mm bore/stroke for a capacity of 1,991cc. The three valves per cylinder were operated by single gear-driven overhead camshaft, while the crankshaft was carried in three roller bearings with plain big ends. Breathing via twin Solex carburettors, this jewel-like power unit produced approximately l00bhp at 4,500rpm. This engine was installed in what was essentially a Brescia type chassis, resulting in a car that was notably fast and powerful for its day, possessing many of the characteristics of the racing Bugattis. The eight-cylinder engine was very flexible and, once mastered, the Brescia-type gearbox a delight to use. Of some 600-or-so Type 30s produced, fewer than 50 are known to survive today. This car was once the property of the late C.W.P. Hampton.