bugatti type 50 s 1931 - Mullin Automotive Museum

1931
BUGATTI TYPE 50 S
2
HISTORIC PROFILE
An Inspired Ride
In 1930 Jean Bugatti persuaded his father,
Ettore, to look beyond the Bugatti factory
for inspiration. The successes of the Miller
racing team over the Bugatti Type 35B
immediately caught his eye.
Having established a standard for luxury
with the Type 41 and 46, the Type 50’s
polished degree of refinement was
expected, perhaps only overshadowed by
the Royale itself. Unexpected were the
significant changes to Ettore Bugatti’s
engine
design
methodology.
The
supercharged engine with inclined valves
was breathtakingly fast, to the degree
that the British Bugatti Agency was
reluctant to sell the formidable beast to
drivers navigating tiny British roads.
The engine’s new design is presumably the
result of Jean’s lessons learned on the
racetrack. Having witnessed the success
of the Miller racing team, Jean persuaded
his father to research the Miller design and
apply the technology to their own touring
cars. Bugatti exchanged three Bugatti
Type 43s for a pair of Miller cars that had
been raced at Monza in 1929. Upon
examination, it was clear that Miller’s
3
HISTORIC PROFILE
hemispherical
head
with
two
ninety-degree inclined valves produced
more power than the traditional vertical
valve rectangular construction of Bugatti
engines. Not typically one to copy
someone else’s technology, Ettore caved
in to his son’s desires, likely remembering
that Duesenberg replicated his engine just
ten years earlier.
Body styles for the Type 50 were diverse,
selling as a rolling chassis and bodied by
either Bugatti or a coachbuilder of the
customer’s choice. Chassis 50117’s custom
body resembles the style of the factory’s
Fiacre designs, which were created by
Jean Bugatti.
4
OWNER HISTORY
This
three-passenger
coupé,
with
coachwork by Million, Guiet & Cie.
, was formerly owned by American
automotive editor and writer Ken Purdy. It
was acquired by the Mullin Automotive
Museum in 2011 from Jaap Braam Ruben.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
5
PROFILE
Coachbuilder
Chassis number
Million, Guiet & Cie.
50117
Profile type
Touring
Body type
Coupé
Number made
Production span
Acceleration
Top Speed
67
1930-1934
0
unavailable
6
BODY | CHASSIS
Front brakes type
Cable-operated drum
Rear brakes type
Cable-operated drum
Length
Height (Ground line to highest roof)
Width
15' 6"
5' 3"
5' 10"
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
ENGINE
Type
Number of cylinders
Bore x stroke
Displacement
Distribution
BHP at 4000 RPM
Transmission
Gearbox
Inline
8
86 mm x 107 mm
4972
Double-overhead camshaft;
superchaged
225
Rear-wheel drive
Manual
Number of gears
3
Overdrive
0
7
© Mullin Automotive Museum
All photographs courtesy of Michael Furman