Bugatti Type 55
The Bugatti Type 55 was the sports car version of the Grand Prix racing car Type 54 and was produced by Bugatti from 1932 to 1935 .
Vehicle and technology
The Type 55, which was developed by Jean Bugatti , had the chassis of the Type 54 and the engine concept of the Type 51 . The 2.3-liter in -line 8-cylinder developed 96 kW at 5000 rpm. Bugatti took over the 4-speed high-speed transmission from the Type 49 .
Racing history
A Type 55 first raced in 1932 at the Mille Miglia . At the legendary road race through Italy, Achille Varzi and Carlo Castelbarco dropped out after a technical defect; the victory went to Baconin Borzacchini on an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 . For 24-hour race at Le Mans in June 1932 , two Type 55 were reported. The car with starting number 15, registered by Guy Bouriat , was driven by Bouriat himself and Louis Chiron . The second vehicle with starting number 16 was driven by the Polish Count Stanisław Czaykowski and the French Grand Prix veteran and former Bugatti works driver Ernest Friederich . Neither vehicle saw the checkered flag. The Bouriat / Chiron car had a leak in the petrol tank after 23 laps; the Czyakowski / Friederich car suffered valve damage after 180 laps.
In 1934 , both of the Type 55s that were registered failed at Le Mans. The car of Charles Brunet and André Carre crashed. The vehicle of Max Fourny and Louis Decaroli was disqualified. In 1935 , both of the Type 55s that were registered failed at Le Mans.
After the Second World War , two aging Type 55s turned up at racing events. John Willment finished second in a Formula Libre race at Goodwood in 1950 . And a racing driver starting under the pseudonym "Gaston" came fourth in the sports car race at the 1953 Swiss Grand Prix .
