Bugatti Type 101 Classic Cars for Sale

The Bugatti Type 101 is a two-door coupe designed and produced by Bugatti between 1951 and 1952. The company also built one in 1965, the last unit. During the World War II, most companies made losses and had to close shops in various parts of the world. Bugatti was among those affected by the economic changes, so after the war they had to devise plans that could help them to make a comeback. Producing the Bugatti Type 101 was one of those plans and the car was designed, borrowing the concept from the pre-war type 57. They used the same chassis as the type 57. The body of the Bugatti Type 101 was handled by four coachbuilders namely Ghia, Gangloff, Antem and Guillore.

History of the Bugatti Type 101

The emergence of the Bugatti Type 101 can be traced back to the post-war period beginning 1951 when the company came up with plans to build a car that would spark sales in the market. The Bugatti Type 101 was designed as a two-door coupe in a bid to satisfy the trends in the market at the time. To start off, the company borrowed ideas from the type 57, which was a car produced before the World War II. They built the initial six Bugatti Type 101 cars from type 57 chassis prototypes. They also redesigned two type 57s to using the specifications that were initially contained in the Bugatti Type 101 blueprint.

This means in that period, only nine Bugatti Type 101 cars were produced. In 1965, an additional Bugatti Type 101 was built by Ghai. The design and concept came from Virgil Exner and used the remaining chassis of the Bugatti Type 101 designed earlier. During the Turin Motor Show the same year, the Bugatti Type 101 was displayed in a bid to revive the marquee. However, there was a challenge in arranging financing, so all the plans to have the Bugatti Type 101 rolled out in numbers were scrapped. The car has been in the hands of Exner for years and recently was showcased during Pebble Concours d'Elegance. The 1965 Bugatti Type 101 was different from earlier versions in the sense that it had a chassis shorter by 46 cm (8 inches).

Buggati Type 101 - Engine

The Bugatti Type 101 ran on different engine configurations depending on the year of production. The 1951 Bugatti Type 101 used a straight-8 single carburettor DOHC engine, which offered a displacement of 3257 cc to produce 135 horsepower. Later in the T101C version of the Bugatti Type 101, the car used a straight-8 single carburettor engine, which was Roots supercharged. This offered more power at 190 horsepower and ran on a displacement of 3257 cc.