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Ettore Bugatti’s Tour de Force

Grand Prix racer or daily driver—the Type35 could be driven to the track, on the track and home fromthe track.The Type 35 was Ettore Bugatti’smasterpiece, and it played a huge part inestablishing his reputation as one of theworld’s finest automobile manufacturers.The success of the Type 35 and its uniqueplace in automotive design history areunequaled. After his achievements with the Type 23Brescia in 1922, Bugatti revealed the next

generation of Bugatti voiturette racers atthe 1924 ACF Grand Prix. The new Type 35built upon the ultra-lightweight designs ofthe Brescia and improved upon theoverall control, braking, and engineoutput—a winning combination of beauty,speed, and handling. The innovativeall-in-one rims, spokes, and brake drumswere cast as a single piece of aluminumthat could be replaced with only one nut.The vertical design of the spokes allowedair to circulate and cool the brakingsystem, becoming a signature of themarque’s subsequent wheels.

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 The Type 35A was introduced by theBugatti factory in 1925 as a less expensiveversion of the Type 35, and its coachworkis virtually identical. The Mullin Type 35Cwas originally a 35A. In the 1960s DickCrosthwaite of the historic racecarrestoration firm Crosthwaite and Gardinerreengineered it into a 35C by adding aRoots supercharger—a popular upgradeof the period.

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Chassis 4634 was the first Type 35A to beimported to England. It was ordered and built for Charles Jarrottand Letts Ltd., the Bugatti concessionairein London, in 1925. The company sold thecar to Chris Staniland, a young Royal AirForce pilot and racecar driver whocompeted successfully with the vehiclebetween 1925 and 1927. Chassis 4634 subsequently was shipped toBelfast. Through a series of owners, it wasused both as regular transport and incompetition, where it achieved furthersuccess. Dick Crosthwaite, of the historicracecar restoration firm Crosthwaite andGardiner, purchased the car circa 1962from Thomas Alastair Sutherland Ogilvy“Taso” Mathieson, a Bugatti collector andracer. By that time, it had beendisassembled, and only the chassis,gearbox and engine remained. With helpfrom marque expert Hugh Conway,Crosthwaite transformed the vehicle into aType 35C, installing original Bugatti parts,new coachwork, a five-roller-bearingcrankshaft, and a Roots supercharger. 

In 1984 Hamish Moffatt purchased theBugatti, completed its restoration and soldit to Terry Bennet in the United States. PeterMullin bought it from Bennet in 1991. Thecar is now owned by the MullinAutomotive Museum.

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PROFILE

Coachbuilder Factory then Peel

Chassis number 4634

Profile type Grand Prix

Body type Grand Prix

Number made 139

Production span 1927-1930

Acceleration 0

Top Speed 125

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BODY | CHASSIS

Front brakes type Cable-operated

Front suspension type Live axle with semielliptical leafsprings

Rear suspension type Live axle with reversedquarter-elliptical leaf springs

Length 12' 10

Height (Ground line to highest roof) 4' 1"

Width 4' 11"

Wheelbase 2.4 m

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ENGINE

Engine number 32A

Type Inline

Number of cylinders 8

Bore x stroke 60 mm x 88 mm

Displacement 1991

Distribution Single overhead camshaft

BHP at 5500 RPM 128

Gearbox Manual

Number of gears 4

Overdrive 0

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© Mullin Automotive MuseumAll photographs courtesy of Michael Furman