Bugatti Trust Newsletter 33

Founded by Hugh G. Conway, C.B.E. in 1987 For the advancement of education through the study of works of Ettore Bugatti Contacts: Richard Day Curator Julie Bridcutt Secretary David Morys Photographer Offi ce Hours: Monday – Friday 10.00 a.m. – 4.00 p.m. Address: The Bugatti Trust, Prescott Hill, Gotherington, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 9RD, UK Tel. +44(0)1242 677201 Fax +44(0)1242 674191 E-mail: [email protected] www.bugatti-trust.co.uk Trustees H. R. G. Conway (Chairman), Angela Hucke, B. B. D. Kain, J. G. Marks, A. B. Price, Lord Raglan, G. S. St. John, A. C. Trevelyan, Sir John Venables-Llewelyn The prototype Royale in a familiar Molsheim location. At this early stage, in 1927, the car had its fi rst Packard coachwork, small brakes and Rapson Tyres. 1 The Bugatti Trust – Winter 2009 Chairman’s Report The town of Molsheim too has realised the benefi ts to its tourism industry in As we come to the end of the centenary promoting Bugatti. One can even follow year for the Bugatti factory in Molsheim a heritage trail! Credit for much of this it is worth acknowledging that most is undoubtedly due to Paul Kestler, industrial companies fail to survive that founder of the Bugatti Enthusiasts long. Literally hundreds of automotive Alsace in 1979 and creator of the manufacturing organisations came and Bugatti Foundation. More recently the went in the early years. The company town’s Musée de la Chartreuse has had as we know it went through diffi cult a section permanently put aside for the times following Ettore’s death and only display of Bugatti artefacts. survives as a result of its purchase by Hispano-Suiza in 1963. The Formula Student team competition, which the Trust supports, has an The current owner of the factory Messier- international reputation and has proved Bugatti is today a major manufacturer extremely successful in providing of aircraft landing gear. It clearly encouragement to young university appreciates the benefi ts of the Bugatti engineering students. It was most heritage. It has put signifi cant investment gratifying to see that a number of teams into restoring many of the original were able to get together at Prescott in buildings, including where the fi rst September and demonstrate their cars models were assembled. Most buildings despite having now graduated. For have been put to good use, including the that one must thank Trish Davis who Bugatti family residence which is now a persuaded so many to attend and whose training and conference centre. initiative it was. The Chateau St Jean, coach houses and No one can possibly predict what will most recently orangery, which were all befall us in the next fi ve years, let alone in a derelict state by the time they were one hundred but we in the Bugatti Trust acquired by VW have been restored and will continue to promote innovative are used in the promotion of its new engineering design as epitomised by the Veyron car. works of Ettore and his son Jean. Bugatti’s Patents – Supercharging had been developed during the First World War, by Fiat and Supercharging Mercedes, for their aero-engines and these two companies were early users Richard Day of blown engines for their racing cars – Mercedes fi rst, in the April 1922 Targa Ettore Bugatti’s French Patents show us Florio and Fiat with the 1½ litre 803 that he was looking into the question of that won the Voiturette race at Brescia in supercharging his Grand Prix cars even June 1923 and then the two litre Grand before the introduction of the Type 35 at Prix cars in the French Grand Prix at Lyon in August 1924. Tours in July of that year. The Bugatti Trust – Winter 2009 2 Both of these manufacturers’ experimental, modifi ed Type 36 on superchargers pressurized the air supply the 30 May 1926 at the Grand Prix into their carburettors rather than fi tting d’Alsace. The factory drawings for them between the carburettor and the the Edmond Moglia designed Roots engine. Mercedes used a Roots blower blower date from August 1925 and are but, at Tours the Fiats had Wittig all designated ‘Type 39’. By this stage type rotary-vane blowers which were the supercharger was fi tted between unsuccessful in that event. The Tours the carburettor and the engine with the road circuit, 35 laps of 14.2 miles, was carburettor working at ambient pressure. rough and dusty and the delicate vane mechanism, probably with inadequate Bugatti’s Patents show us that he was lubrication, did not last the race distance, initially thinking along Mercedes lines allowing the unsupercharged Sunbeams (not for the fi rst time) but with a rotary- to fi nish 1st and 2nd with the Bugatti vane unit which could be engaged by the Type 32 of Friderich 3rd. For their next driver when extra power was required race, at Monza, Fiat had replaced the and arranged to blow air into the Wittig vanes with Roots rotors and they carburettor. won. Bugatti’s French patent number 576.182 Bugatti fi rst introduced supercharging for “Compresseur ou pompe à palettes” for his Grand Prix cars with the was sought on 22 January 1924 and Bugatti French patent number 576.182 3 The Bugatti Trust – Winter 2009 it shows a neat articulated multi vane second is the diffi culty of providing arrangement with triple outlets which adequate lubrication of the rotary-vane Bugatti claimed would produce a mechanism if it is fi tted down-stream of smooth fl ow. the carburettor because the fuel mixture would wash out the oil. The Bugatti French Patent number 586.717, sought on 30 September ‘The invention overcomes these 1924, was for a special dual operating problems’. carburettor designed to work at ambient pressure for normal running but able The carburettor is essentially composed to take a forced air supply when the of two parts, one being a normally driver engaged the blower. This Patent aspirated carburettor functioning at low was titled ‘Carburateur permettant speeds, the other for high speeds with a la surcrompression’ and is interesting supply of compressed air from a blower, because it explains Ettore’s concerns but only when required. Then the fi rst about two potential diffi culties. The continues to work, with its venturi, in fi rst is the need to balance the fl oat combination with the second. chamber pressure with the increased air supply and all the attendant pipe work At low speeds the central jet ‘C’ supplies and shrouding if the carburettor is on petrol into the venturi of the choke the pressure side of the blower and the tube B. For higher speeds an engine driven blower is engaged to supply air at a certain pressure via the tube ‘K’ to a space around the choke. There is a very light weight blocking ring ‘F’ which is lifted by this air pressure uncovering a number of supplementary jets and thus providing a forced supply of petrol/air melange from an annular venturi. This would seem to result in a very neat arrangement. From at least the time of the French Grand Prix at Tours in 1923 – when the supercharged Fiats showed their speed potential before they failed – Bugatti must have been impressed. These patents give us an insight into Bugatti French patent number 586.717 the development of his reply. The Bugatti Trust – Winter 2009 4 Bugatti’s Paris Locations – Why in particular it was chosen as a backdrop for the T55 model is open to Rue du Débarcadère debate, but from 1936 on it was used as the design offi ce and workshop for the Richard Day Bugatti De Monge airplane. Conceivably the Zenith panels may as from then As we hoped, some Trust members have been put on the facade to give the have responded to our piece in the impression that Zenith had rented the last Newsletter about the Bugatti building and thereby provide cover for the secret aircraft project. Of course this Showrooms in Paris. We are most is pure conjecture on my part. grateful to Dick Ploeg for his conclusion that the picture of the Type 55 faux What we can glean from these cabriolet shown on page 12 was taken photographs is that Bugatti used 15 Rue du Débarcadère from the time of Frederic in front of 15 Rue du Débarcadère and Loiseau’s Sahara raid until at least 1940. not Avenue Montaigne as we had stated. Dick’s letter is most interesting: What also remains is that, to the best of my knowledge, there have never been I read with interest your article published any photographs yet showing concerning the Bugatti showrooms in the exterior of the 46 Avenue Montaigne Paris in Newsletter #32. In case you showrooms. This seems weird as weren’t aware, the Newsletter is read common sense suggests that such photos with interest and always eagerly awaited! must have existed. The illustration on page 12, showing the I would be much interested in any new T55 Coupe is not, I think, of the Avenue information with respect to the various Montaigne, but was taken in front of Bugatti addresses. My own research so Bugatti’s Rue du Débarcadère number 15 far has only yielded demolished sites premises. (Av Montaigne, Maissons-Lafi tte and Rue du Débarcadère). The often repeated story is that Ettore rented the building from the Zenith The workshops at Rue de Du Carburettor company. But the early Débarcadère have been shown in well 1930s pictures showing the early T55 known photographs of the Bugatti roadster and coupe, and the picture with Frederic Loiseau show “Automobiles aeroplane and the motor torpedo boat Bugatti” panels on the facade and only (see Newsletter 25, pages 16 & 17).

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