Bugatti Type 101
| Bugatti | |
|---|---|
 Bugatti Type 101
with convertible body from Gangloff (Colmar) |
|
| Type 101 | |
| Production period: | 1951-1956 |
| Class : | Upper class |
| Body versions : | Sedan , coupe , convertible |
| Engines: |
Gasoline engines : 3.3 liters (99-138 kW) |
| Length: | |
| Width: | |
| Height: | |
| Wheelbase : | 3300 mm |
| Empty weight : | |
| Previous model | Bugatti Type 57 |
The Bugatti Type 101 (also: Bugatti T 101 ) was the last passenger car that the French automobile manufacturer Bugatti developed and built. With it, the traditional Alsatian plant attempted to resume regular automobile production after the Second World War . However, Bugatti did not succeed in building on the successes of the pre-war period. The T 101 was only produced in six copies; In addition, some older Bugattis received bodies in the style of the T 101.
Background: resumption of automobile production in Molsheim
Shortly after the end of the Second World War, the company's founder Ettore Bugatti had announced that automobile production would be resumed. For this purpose, the plant constructed the Type 73 , a two-door hatchback coupé with conservative lines and a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine. In 1946 Ettore Bugatti announced the production of a street and a racing version of the T 73; In the end, apart from a prototype, not a single car was completed. The reasons for this were the unclear ownership of the production facilities in Molsheim and the company's economic difficulties.
After Ettore Bugatti's death in 1947, racing driver Pierre Marco took over management of the company, and in 1951 he passed it on to Ettore Bugatti's son Roland . In the late 1940s, the plant was primarily concerned with restoring older Bugattis.
In 1951, Bugatti made another attempt to re-establish itself as an automobile manufacturer. In order to express that this was a new beginning, when naming the new car, Roland Bugatti decided against a complete continuation of the previous numbering system - according to which the new model should have been called Type 81 - and instead chose the name Type 101 .
Model history
Regardless of its name, the Bugatti T 101 was actually not a new start. The car was essentially a remake of the Bugatti Type 57 introduced in 1934 . Bugatti took over the chassis and running gear of the successful pre-war model almost unchanged. This also included the front rigid axle , which - six years after the end of the Second World War - was an outdated design feature. All that was new was a stronger brake system.
The drive was the well-known in-line eight-cylinder engine from the 1930s with a displacement of 3.3 liters and two overhead camshafts. Here, too, there were hardly any changes; the modifications primarily concerned the mixture preparation: Instead of the Stromberg carburettors of the pre-war models, Weber downdraft carburettors were used. An increase in performance with a compressor was available on request. The power was transmitted by a manual four-speed gearbox; an electrically operated Cotal preselector could optionally be ordered.
In other respects, too, it was evident that the Type 101 was not a new car: when building the chassis, Bugatti also used numerous parts that had already been produced before the war and have since been housed in the factory's warehouses.
Scope of production
There are various details about the scope of production of the Bugatti T 101; some sources assume six vehicles, others seven. These divergences are due to different counting methods.
It is certain that between 1951 and 1956 Bugatti produced a total of six road-ready chassis for the T 101. In addition, the Colmar- based branch of the Gangloff body shop produced a coupé in the style of the T 101 in 1951, although it was based on an older type 57 chassis (chassis no. 57.454). If this vehicle is regarded as a model of the 101 series, regardless of its chassis number, the production volume of this series is a total of seven vehicles, otherwise there are only six.
The numbers of the 101 chassis manufactured between 1951 and 1956 are 101.500, 101.501, 101.502, 101.503, 101.504 and 101.506. There is no evidence of the existence of a chassis with chassis number 101.505. Most publications assume that this number has been left out, but cannot give reasons for it.
Five of the T-101 chassis were provided with bodies from different manufacturers in 1951 and 1952; a chassis was only given a body in 1965 after extensive changes. With one exception, all superstructures followed the pontoon style . All vehicles still exist today. They are in museums or are in the hands of collectors.
The individual versions
Chassis No. 101,500: The prototype
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The prototype of the T 101 had a body designed by the French industrial designer Louis Lucien Lepoix . Lepoix had designed a four-door notchback sedan with fenders that flowed smoothly into the door panels. A special design feature related to the headlights. They were free-standing and set back in two openings on either side of the grille. The cream-colored car is now part of the Schlumpf Collection .
Chassis No. 101.501 and 101.503: Cabriolets Gangloff
In 1951 and 1952, Gangloff manufactured two convertibles with smooth lines in Colmar. The structures were identical apart from small details. The headlights were integrated into the front fenders, the horseshoe-shaped radiator grille was slightly curved. Since the engine, following the layout common to pre-war models, was located behind the front axle, the front overhangs were tight, while the bonnet was very long.
An illustration of a Gangloff convertible graced the title page of the Type 101 brochure.
Chassis No. 101.502: Coach Guilloré
The second series chassis of the T 101 was dressed in 1951 by the French body manufacturer A. Guilloré from Courbevoie . In the pre-war and immediately post-war period, Guilloré had primarily produced car bodies for Delahaye and Talbot ; a relationship with Bugatti, however, initially did not exist. Guilloré's body for the T 101 was decidedly conservative in comparison to the bodies of the other bodybuilders. Unlike Lepoix and Gangloff, Guilloré did not follow the pontoon line. The fenders of the coupé were rather free-standing, the high bonnet running towards an upright radiator grille. The doors were hung at the back. Most observers assume that Guilloré originally designed the body for a Delahaye 135M before the beginning of World War II and later modified it for the Bugatti chassis at the customer's request. In fact, there are several Delahaye with an almost identical body.
The car stood in Tunis until 1964 before it was successively taken over by collectors in Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands. In 2008 it was auctioned by Bonhams for $ 269,265.
Chassis No. 101.504: Antem Coupé
The fourth series chassis of the T 101 received a coupé body from Courbevoie- based bodybuilder Antem in the summer of 1951 . The sports car had a low waistline, a very long hood, and a tight, dome-like passenger cell. The front glazing was drawn into the side of the vehicle, but was not really a panorama window. Rather, it consisted of four individual parts. Bugatti first exhibited the Antem Coupé together with a Gangloff Cabriolet at the 1951 Paris Motor Show . In the following decades the car passed through several collectors' hands; in the 1990s it belonged, among others, to actor Nicolas Cage .
Chassis No. 101.506: The Exner Roadster
The last chassis of the T 101 was manufactured in 1956. It remained in the factory until 1961 when it was sold to the American automobile designer Virgil Exner . Exner had the chassis modified and designed a roadster body in neo-classical style, which was manufactured by Carrozzeria Ghia in 1965 . Depending on the source, it is called Exner-Bugatti or Ghia-Bugatti . Many see it as the last classic Bugatti ever made.
Virgil Exner was Chrysler's chief designer in the 1950s . There he designed the models of the 1955 generation in the so-called million dollar look and the forward look for the 1957 generation. Regardless of the success of these comparatively simple designs, Exner was personally very interested in the design of the 1930s and in classic automobile brands and was looking for ways to transfer stylistic elements from this time to current vehicles. He took a first step in this direction with the 1961 Imperial , which had free-standing headlights and chrome strips on the sides that were intended to imitate curved fenders. Exner's Imperial design turned out to be a failure. After he left Chrysler at the end of 1961, Exner developed various studies for automobile bodies that had classic style elements. This included free-standing front wheels and side exhaust systems. Exner rejected these designs from classic, now discontinued automobile brands such as B. Mercer too; However, these projects were initially not well founded, so that initially it remained with mere drawings. In 1966 Exner's design for a new edition of the Duesenberg brand was realized, which followed this design principle. The project called Duesenberg Model D failed due to funding; From 1970, however, Exner and the New York banker James O'Donnell succeeded in reviving the Stutz brand , which took up Exner's design concept and produced neo-classic vehicles until 1987.
In this tradition, Exner's body stands for the last T-101 chassis. Exner's two-seater roadster had a protruding, horseshoe-shaped grille, recessed headlights reminiscent of Lepoix's 1951 Type 101 prototype, a curved trim strip on the vehicle flanks, and a split windshield. There were also doors hinged at the back. Exner later adopted some of these stylistic features for his Stutz Blackhawk. Exner had the T 101 built by Carrozzeria Ghia in Turin in the course of 1965 . Ghia shortened the chassis by 46 cm and created a body made of sheet steel entirely by hand. The car was presented at the Turin Motor Show in autumn 1965. It has had several owners over the past few decades; it is in the USA today.
Other models
In addition to the six original vehicles, Bugatti manufactured a few other vehicles in the 1950s that corresponded to the 101 style. However, they are each based on older Type 57 chassis and also have its chassis numbers, so they are not examples of Type 101 in the strict sense of the word.
- In 1952, Gangloff created a four-seat, two-door coupé based on this design, the design of which took up the essential features of the convertible. The roof structure had thin, steep columns and was extensively glazed. The dark blue painted vehicle was implemented on an older Type 57 chassis (number 57.454). The Gangloff Coupé remained a one-off. Today it is in the Schlumpf Collection.
- Another cabriolet with a Gangloff body was built in 1952 on a 17-year-old T 57 chassis. In addition, at least one other vehicle with a coupé body was produced on an older chassis.
The failure of the Type 101
The failure of the Type 101 is often attributed to its outdated technology: Newer vehicles from Delahaye or Jaguar were technically more up-to-date, more powerful and more comfortable than the Type 101. Others cite the high tax burden that a Type 101 incurred: The car was in The French tax system, which was defined as a function of displacement, was classified in the 17 CV or 19 CV tax class, which was associated with very high vehicle taxes in the post-war period. Very few fans of the brand were willing to take on such burdens.
Technical specifications
| Technical specifications | |
|---|---|
| Bugatti | Type 101 |
| Engine: | Eight-cylinder in-line engine optionally with compressor |
| Displacement | 3257 cc |
| Bore × stroke | 72 mm × 100 mm |
| power | 135-188 hp |
| Valves | 16 |
| Valve control | two overhead camshafts |
| transmission | Manual four-speed gearbox, optionally Cotal preselector gearbox; blocked on the engine |
| suspension | rigid axles at the front and rear |
| wheelbase | 3300 mm |
| Length × width × height | construction-dependent |
| Top speed | 160 km / h |
literature
- HG Conway: The Bugatti guys . In: The Bugattis. Automobiles, furniture, bronzes. Exhibition catalog of the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (1983)
- Uwe Hucke and Julius Kruta: Bugatti. From Milan to Molsheim , Münster 2008, ISBN 978-3-938568-39-2
- Karl Ludvigsen: Bugatti T 101 . In: The Automobile. Edition April 2011
- Joachim Kurz: Bugatti. The Myth - The Family - The Company 2005, ISBN 978-3-430-15809-1
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The last chassis was made in 1956. It was not given a body until 1965.
- ↑ In short: Bugatti. P. 183.
- ↑ In the list of Ettore Bugatti's constructions, the numbers 81 to 100 are not assigned; see. HG Conway: table of types. In: The Bugattis. Exhibition catalog of the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (1983), p. 426 ff., As well as the overview on the website www.bugattirevue.com (accessed on November 2, 2011).
- ^ Schrader, Lillywhite: Classic Automobiles. P. 98.
- ↑ a b Brief description of the Bugatti T 101 on the website www.sportscarmarket.com ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed November 2, 2011).
- ↑ a b H.G. Conway: The Bugatti guys. In: The Bugattis. Automobiles, furniture, bronzes. Exhibition catalog of the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (1983), p. 298.
- ↑ Brief description of the model on the website www.motorbase.com (accessed on November 2, 2011).
- ↑ Description of the Gangloff convertibles with numerous images on the website www.coachbuild.com (accessed on November 2, 2011).
- ↑ Brief description of the Bugatti T 101 Coach Guilloré on the website www.sportscarmarket.com ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed November 2, 2011).
- ↑ Description of the Bugatti T 101 Antem with numerous images on the website www.coachbuild.com (accessed on November 2, 2011).
- ↑ Brief description of the Bugatti T 101 "Exner" with numerous images on the website www.madle.org (accessed on November 2, 2011).
- ↑ Description of the Gangloff Coupé with images on the website www.coachbuild.com (accessed on November 2, 2011).
- ↑ See brief description of the Bugatti T 101 Coach Guilloré on the website www.sportscarmarket.com ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed November 2, 2011).
- ↑ See information in the factory brochure from 1951; Image on the website www.madle.org (accessed on November 2, 2011).
