Bugatti Type 52
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Bugatti Type 52 is the unofficial model name for a children's vehicle that the French sports car manufacturer Bugatti sold as Bébé Bugatti .
Company founder Ettore Bugatti developed it in 1926 only for his youngest son Roland Bugatti (1922–1977). By 1936 around 100 more Bébé Bugatti had been built for good customers; According to some sources, up to 250 copies were built.
technology
The vehicle was a “real” automobile in miniature, roughly on a scale of 1: 2. It was a miniature version of the Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix racing car . With the 12-volt electric motor with forward and reverse gear, the "Bébé-Bugatti" was around 20 km / h.
The chassis was a ladder frame made of sheet steel beams. The engine was located on the rear axle and drove the right rear wheel via gears. The rigid front axle was a replica of the larger model and hung on two semi-elliptic leaf springs , while the rear axle was unsprung. Even the famous flat-spoke aluminum wheels were reproduced. Braking was carried out by means of a handbrake which acted on the brake drum cast into each wheel via a cable and wooden brake shoes. A spare wheel was available on request. The speed was controlled by an electrical resistance that was operated with a pedal.
The wheelbase was initially 1200 mm. Later there was also a slightly larger version with (depending on the source) 1300 or 1350 mm for more legroom for the young pilots. The length was 1825 resp. 1970 mm, the track 625 mm. The width of 680 mm and the height of 570 mm were uniform.
A version with a gasoline engine and one forward and one reverse gear was also available.
Ambitious parents are said to have enticed their offspring to race on the sidewalks of popular summer resorts such as Deauville or Nice .
The Bébé Bugatti was presented at the stand at the motor shows in Paris and Milan in 1926 and was listed in the official sales catalog between 1927 and around 1936, but always without the name “Type 52”. According to the brochure, the Bugatti Bébé was "intended for children between the ages of six and eight". This can be traced back to the recognized Bugatti expert Hugh Conway .
About 30 "Bébé-Bugatti" are likely to have been preserved. A replica was available in the UK decades later . In 1983 it cost about DM 12,000.
literature
- Axel von Saldern: Bugatti - works of art on wheels. Ellert and Richter, Hamburg 1991, ISBN 3-89234-218-0 .
- In short, Joachim: Bugatti. The Myth - The Family - The Company ; Econ-Verlag (Ullstein Buchverlage GmbH), Berlin, ISBN 3-43015809-5
- Schmarbeck, Wolfgang and Wolbold, Gabriele: Bugatti passenger and racing cars since 1909 ; 1st edition (2009); Motorbuchverlag Stuttgart, Typenkompass series, ISBN 978-3-613-03021-3
- Hugh G. Conway: Les Grandes Marques: Bugatti. Gründ, Paris 1984, ISBN 2-7000-5175-8 (French)
- Griffith Borgeson: Bugatti by Borgeson - The dynamics of mythology (1981), Osprey Publishing Limited, London ISBN 0-85045-414-X (English)
- Richard v. Frankenberg, Marco Matteucci: History of the Automobile. Sigloch Service Edition, STIG Torino 1973, DNB 760297916 .
- Hans-Otto Neubauer (ed.): Chronicle of the automobile. Chronik Verlag in Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, Gütersloh / Munich 1994, ISBN 3-570-14338-4 .
- Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader: The great automobile encyclopedia. 100 years of history. 2500 brands from 65 countries. , 2nd Edition. BLV Buchverlag, Munich / Vienna / Zurich 1992, ISBN 3-405-12974-5 .
- GN Georgano (Ed.): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. , 2nd Edition. Dutton Press, New York 1973, ISBN 0-525-08351-0 . (English)
Web links
- bugatti.com (Bugatti Official Site): Bugatti Bébé (accessed August 3, 2013)
- museoauto.it: Bugatti Model 52 (English) ( Memento from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive )