Bugatti 40 Grand Sport
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Automobilhersteller : |
Bugatti |
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Modell: |
40 Grand Sport |
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Jahr: |
1929-1931 |
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Art: |
Roadster |
After the success of the Brescia Bugatti, which excelled in its various configurations on both road and track, Ettore Bugatti launched the Type 40 as its replacement.
The Type 40, introduced in 1926 and produced through 1930, used the 3-valve 1.5 L (1496 cc/91 in³) engine first used in some Type 37s. It was an enclosed Tourer or (as the Type 40A) small roadster. About 830 were built. Of those 780, Bugatti produced only 42 roadsters, with their bodywork being designed by Jean Bugatti and produced in-house.
The Type 40A shared its block with the Type 40 and displaced 1.6 L (1627 cc/99 in³). All 40 Type 40As were built in 1930.
Particularly prized by collectors are the 42 examples of the Type 40 that were fitted with Jean Bugatti’s stunning roadster bodywork, a rakish design originally created in 1929 for the eight-cylinder Type 43A, and a model that remains among the most coveted pre-war sports cars of all time. In order to fit the Type 40 chassis, the body design had to be shortened to suit the more compact dimensions, but the overall result remains simply stunning, and it sets those 42 chassis apart as the most sporting and desirable of their breed. The roadsters were built on the last Type 40 chassis produced, between March 1930 and 1931, at the same time as production of the successor Type 40A was getting underway. Naturally, Jean Bugatti took the first roadster for himself.
