The story of the Bugatti Type 50, which heralded a new era with the
introduction of the Molsheim marque’s first twin-cam engine, a
supercharged 4.9-litre straight eight of prodigious power Launched in
1930, the Bugatti Type 50 heralded a new era with the introduction of
the Molsheim marque’s first twin-cam design, a supercharged 4.9-litre
straight-eight engine of prodigious power. At a time when brute force
was needed to win the Le Mans 24 Hours, a competition version was
developed and three such Type 50s took part in 1931. The car around
which this book is focused, 50177, was leading the famous endurance race
when the team withdrew it owing to tyre failures that had afflicted the
sister cars, causing one to crash heavily at high speed. The fascinating
story of 50177, and the Type 50 in general, is told in this brilliantly
researched and superbly illustrated book in the Great Cars series.
Introductory chapters explain the economically perilous world of 1931,
the genius of Ettore and Jean Bugatti, the bloodline of large-capacity
Bugatti engines, and the Type 46 from which the Type 50 was derived.
There follows an in-depth exploration of the Type 50’s design and
development, including the Miller inspiration behind its twin-cam
engine. The four Le Mans races in which Type 50s took part form the core
of the book and tell a story of promise unfulfilled. The subject car,
50177, raced three times, in 1931 as a works entry with race no. 5
(driven by Albert Divo and Guy Bouriat) and in 1934 and 1935 with works
assistance as no. 2 (driven by Pierre Veyron and Roger Labric). A
section about the drivers presents illustrated biographies of the four
men who raced 50177 as well as the four others in the 1931 works team —
Louis Chiron and Achille Varzi in no. 4 and Maurice Rost and Count
Caberto Conelli in no. 6. Post-war, three-time Le Mans winner Luigi
Chinetti bought 50177 in 1949 and took it to America, where it spent
nearly 50 years with five different owners. The last of them was Miles
Coverdale, a passionate Bugatti collector who kept the car for 23 years
and uncovered much of its history through correspondence with former
works mechanics, notably Robert Aumaître. Co-authors Mark Morris and
Julius Kruta, wellknown in the Bugatti world for their immense knowledge
and enthusiasm, present a wealth of fresh information and illustration
in this fine book. Brilliantly setting the scene – the book introduces
the economically perilous world of 1931, the genius of Ettore and Jean
Bugatti, the bloodline of large-capacity Bugatti engines, and the Type
46 from which the Type 50 was derived. Exploring in depth – the authors
examine the T50’s design and development, including the Miller
inspiration behind its twin-cam engine, and a detailed description of
its technical features and iconic coachwork. A wealth of fresh
information – the expert authors, well-known in the Bugatti world for
their knowledge and enthusiasm, present this brilliantly researched and
superbly illustrated new book in the publisher’s acclaimed ‘Great Cars’
series.
