Bugatti Type 53 Classic Cars for Sale

Developed by the French car marque Bugatti in 1932, the Bugatti Type 53 was among the first four wheel drive racing cars to hit the tracks. Only three of the model were produced, all in 1932 - two were manufactured by Bugatti and the third was built from factory parts. Of these three one was crashed by by Jean Bugatti in 1932: understandably the Bugatti Type 53 is today a collector's car.

Origins and Design of the Bugatti Type 53

The collaboration of three men- Giulio Cappa, Antonio Pichetto and Ettore Bugatti- brought the notoriously hard to handle Bugatti Type 53 into being. The concept for it came from former Fiat designer Guilio Cappa who had first designed a front wheel drive racing car in 1926. His enthusiasm for the idea convinced Antonio Pichetto (a former colleague at Fiat) to take his designs to Ettore Bugatti. Bugatti saw the potential of a four-wheel drive system in giving his racing cars the edge (popular races at the time were road races, hill climbs or uphill races). In the Bugatti Type 53 he agreed production of an independent front suspension system- the only time he ever did this. Pichetto took over development of the car at Bugatti from 1930 onwards.

Drive Capability of the Bugatti Type 53

Cappa convinced Bugatti to use the 4.9l engine from the type 54 as the force behind the the Bugatti Type 53. The engine was capable of 300 horsepower (220 KW) and the car was a renowned hill climber, breaking records at Mont Ventoux and twice at La Turbie in 1932.

Whilst this is impressive, it is overshadowed by the poor handling of the Type 53. The hard steering was put down to the car both having unequal length halfshafts with nothing torsional to match these and to it not having constant-velocity joints for the front halfshafts. The result was that the car suffered from torque steer- physically demanding work for drivers. Several were beaten by it: during the 1932 Monaco Grand Prix Albert Divo didn't even make it past the practise sessions with the Bugatti Type 53 and as previously mentioned Jean Bugatti crashed one at Shelsey Walsh.

Legacy of the Bugatti Type 53

The Bugatti Type 53 was not a polished article, but it was a step towards change in car design. As the first car to allow the possibility of disconnecting the integral drive, thus transforming the car into front or rear wheel drive, the Bugatti Type 53 is a precursor to the four-wheel drive models of today.