A comprehensive, radical look at the history and development of the Type 57 Grand Prix Bugattis. New material challenges traditional beliefs about these historic cars, and rejects some long-standing conventions. Myths are explored and truths are revealed in a book celebrating all aspects of these remarkable cars and their creators.
Bugatti: Le Pur-Sang des Automobiles H.G. Conway This outstanding volume describes each type produced in chronological order. In addition to technical and specification information there is contemporary material including press reports, road tests and correspondence between key figures in Bugatti history. Exceptionally written and produced. 5th edition. Hdbd., 8 1/4x 1 1/2, 432 pgs., 485 b&w ill.
The Grand Prix Bugatti has a strong claim to a book all of its own, with its enviable record of racing successes, its superb craftsmanship and, for the more mechanically minded, the great variety of its ingenious design features unique to the creations of the great artist designer, Ettore Bugatti. This book is devoted to the racing Types 35, 37, 43 and 51, in their various forms, and describes their anatomy in detail and their racing achievements. A schedule of individual models, in chassis number order, gives type number, factory date, brief history and, where known, the present owner; the appendices include tabulated specifications of the types. Bugatti owners will also find much practical information to help them maintain their historic racing cars.
This expert volume examines the engineering, design, and modeling of this classic sportscar through the years—fully illustrated with color photos. Innovative car designer Ettore Bugatti changed the history of both motorsports and engineering with the legendary T35. Introduced at the Grand Prix of Lyon in 1924, its clever engine design, new suspension thinking, and distinct body style marked the beginning of a new era in car racing. Automotive journalist, industrial designer and Bugatti expert Lance Cole pays tribute to this iconic automobile in a detailed yet engaging commentary. Fully illustrated with color photos, this volume chronicles the story of the T35’s design and evolution. For the car modeling enthusiast, Cole also details the modeling options in synthetic materials and die cast metals.
Launched in 1930, the Bugatti Type 50 heralded a new era with the introduction of the Molsheim marque’s first twin-cam design, a supercharged 4.9-litre straight-eight engine of prodigious power. At a time when brute force was needed to win the Le Mans 24 Hours, a competition version was developed and three such Type 50s took part in 1931. The car around which this book is focused, 50177, was leading the famous endurance race when the team withdrew it owing to tyre failures that had afflicted the sister cars, causing one to crash heavily at high speed. The fascinating story of 50177, and the Type 50 in general, is told in this brilliantly researched and superbly illustrated book in the Great Cars series. Introductory chapters explain the economically perilous world of 1931, the genius of Ettore and Jean Bugatti, the bloodline of large-capacity Bugatti engines, and the Type 46 from which the Type 50 was derived. There follows an in-depth exploration of the Type 50’s design and development, including the Miller inspiration behind its twin-cam engine. The four Le Mans races in which Type 50s took part form the core of the book and tell a story of promise unfulfilled. The subject car, 50177, raced three times, in 1931 as a works entry with race no. 5 (driven by Albert Divo and Guy Bouriat) and in 1934 and 1935 with works assistance as no. 2 (driven by Pierre Veyron and Roger Labric). A section about the drivers presents illustrated biographies of the four men who raced 50177 as well as the four others in the 1931 works team — Louis Chiron and Achille Varzi in no. 4 and Maurice Rost and Count Caberto Conelli in no. 6. Post-war, three-time Le Mans winner Luigi Chinetti bought 50177 in 1949 and took it to America, where it spent nearly 50 years with five different owners. The last of them was Miles Coverdale, a passionate Bugatti collector who kept the car for 23 years and uncovered much of its history through correspondence with former works mechanics, notably Robert Aumaître. Co-authors Mark Morris and Julius Kruta, wellknown in the Bugatti world for their immense knowledge and enthusiasm, present a wealth of fresh information and illustration in this fine book.
When we reflect upon the history of Italian coachbuilding and design, it is impossible to ignore the De Tomaso / Giugiaro Mangusta. It was stunning from every angle; in both art and engineering, it challenged and defined every aspect of motor car design in the mid-1960s while solving the problems associated with midengined design with beauty, grace, and authority. By the dictates of its creator, the Mangusta would be a race car for the street, its chassis based on a contemporary competition car. By the hand of one of the greatest automotive designers in Italy, it would be wide, low, sleek, and of perfect line. Ex-GM Designer Dick Ruzzin knows this well, as did others whose lives were devoted to automotive architecture. The Detroit doyens of design, William L. Mitchell at GM and Gene Bordinat at Ford, realized immediately that the Mangusta was one of the most advanced and beautiful cars in the world. Both ordered a specially tailored Mangusta for their personal use, and Mitchell had his equipped with a Chevy V8. Ruzzin has owned the ex-Mitchell Mangusta for the last forty-seven years. He spent years in Turin and interviewed many of those who still remembered how the Mangusta came to be created. Writing with passion, experience, and knowledge, Ruzzin has expertly authored the only book specifically about the design of the Mangusta. —Pete Vack, Editor and Publisher, VeloceToday.com, LLC ----- Reading about Dick Ruzzin's Mangusta reminds me of two of the most unforgettable characters I ever met. They are, of course, Alejandro de Tomaso and William L. Mitchell. Once known as Europe's most profligate creator of exotic sports and racing prototypes, Argentinean emigre de Tomaso had a phase of fondness for backbone-framed cars that gave birth to the Mangusta, magnificently styled by the young Giorgetto Giugiaro. The mercurial Alejandro finally made good as a car manufacturer—with a little help from the Italian government. A car enthusiast from his bald dome to his Bond Street shoes, Bill Mitchell arranged for GM Styling to buy the latest sports cars to help him persuade GM's often hidebound management that more exciting cars might be good for business. His Chevy-engined Mangusta was a perfect example. Ironically its successor in de Tomaso oeuvre was the Pantera, launched by Ford like an arrow at the heart of GM. Now Dick Ruzzin brings his own enthusiasm for great automobiles to this presentation of an esoteric example from the golden age of Italian sports cars, deeply informed on all aspects of the Mangusta as only a passionate owner can be. —Karl Ludvigsen
Webster's Dictionary lists the term showman as "a notably spectacular, dramatic, or effective performer." In the art of drag racing, Hubert Platt checked all boxes. Known as the "Georgia Shaker," Platt cut his motoring teeth on the long straightaways and twisty back roads of South Carolina while bootlegging moonshine. After a run-in with the law in 1958, Platt transferred his driving skills from illegal activity to sanctioned drag racing and began one of the most dominant runs in drag racing history until his retirement in 1977. After stints in 1957, 1938, and 1962 Chevrolets, Platt's next ride was a Z11 Impala, which carried his first "Georgia Shaker" moniker. Once Chevrolet pulled out of sanctioned racing, Platt found a new home with Ford for 1964 and remained there until he hung up his helmet. Some of the cars he campaigned became icons in their own right. His factory-backed and personal machines included a 1963 Z11 Impala, 1964 Thunderbolt, 1965 Falcon, 1966 Mustang Funny Car, 1967 Fairlane 427, 1968-1/2 Cobra Jet, 1969 CJ Mustang, 1970 427 SOHC Mustang, and 1970 Boss 429 Maverick. A 1986 NHRA Hall of Fame member, Platt's lasting legacy on the sport can’t be denied. Whether he was launching his Falcon with the door open, conducting a Ford Drag Team seminar, or posting low E.T. at the 1967 US Nationals in his Fairlane, Platt's imprint on drag racing was all-encompassing. His son and biggest fan, Allen Platt, shares his dad's iconic career in, Hubert Platt: Fast Fords of the "Georgia Shaker"!
It’s hard to be an automotive artist without honouring the cars of Ferrari.In this book, I hope to celebrate the people, performance and sculptural form of Ferraris through my art.
This book is a pictorial tribute to the 4-cylinder Bugatti Type 40. Although sometimes unkindly referred to as 'Ettore's Morris Cowley,' the model nevertheless shared its fine engineering pedigree with all other Bugattis. Packed with mainly period photographs, illustrations and sales literature, it is a visual treat for all admirers of this model, and for added interest the book also features the factory's individual chassis sales records.
This work examines the Type 57 Grand Prix cars, the creation of Jean Bugatti, Ettore's eldest son. The late Hugh G Conway wrote in Bugatti - Le pur sang des automobiles, that, after 1935, 'Bugatti's racing programme became involved and very confusing to the humble historian, without accurate factory records.' The T57G's story is complex and has taken more than forty years to draw together, study and evaluate. Revealing new material, Tomlinson takes the view that existing records can be reinterpreted with a revised mindset, challenging conformist beliefs and dismissing many conventions. The book describes the 57G's racing career and evolution through its siblings, the Types 57, 57S and 59. Type 57G characteristics are identified, with race-to-race body and chassis details described, and the Type 57G, 57S45, 57 'Sport' and 57C Le Mans cars are defined, and their enigmatic history revised. This book celebrates the Bugatti T57 Grand Prix racing cars: their origins, triumphs, failings, trivia, trinkets, and a little about the personalities behind them, interwoven with the social and political influences of those times.