California Dreaming
The Bugatti Type 57 was introduced at the Paris motor show in October 1933. Fitted with a newly engineered, jewel-like straight-eight DOHC engine, Bugatti’s powerplant design would endure throughout the Type 57 production with few modifications. This all-new model was capable of maintaining a 60-mph average on the often mediocre roads of the period, and Jean Bugatti later boasted that he had completed a 270-mile trip from Molsheim to Paris in less than 3 1/2 hours. Approximately 700 Type 57s were made from 1934 to 1939, when production ceased at the outbreak of WWII. But in the years before the war, well-heeled enthusiasts and drivers flocked to buy this paragon of fast road cars, enticed by its sharp handling, powerful and smooth engine, and impeccable road manners.
The engine, itself a thing of beauty, is an iconic mechanical sculpture today. Camboxes, which were hand-scraped in a bright-cut pattern by factory artisans, concealed the dual overhead camshafts driven by helical-tooth gears at the rear of the block. The remarkable result was more than the sum of its parts: eight decades later, the Bugatti Type 57 ranks as one of the most significant automobiles of all time.
Technical Specs
3,245 CC DOHC Inline 8-Cylinder Engine
Single Twin-Choke Stromberg UUR2 Carburetor
Roots-Type Supercharger
160 BHP at 5,000 RPM
4-Speed Manual Gearbox
4-Wheel Bugatti-Lockheed Hydraulic Drum Brakes
Front Solid-Axle Suspension with Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs
Rear Live Axle with Reversed Quarter-Elliptical Leaf Springs
California Dreaming
The Bugatti Type 57 was introduced at the Paris motor show in October 1933. Fitted with a newly engineered, jewel-like straight-eight DOHC engine, Bugatti’s powerplant design would endure throughout the Type 57 production with few modifications. This all-new model was capable of maintaining a 60-mph average on the often mediocre roads of the period, and Jean Bugatti later boasted that he had completed a 270-mile trip from Molsheim to Paris in less than 3 1/2 hours. Approximately 700 Type 57s were made from 1934 to 1939, when production ceased at the outbreak of WWII. But in the years before the war, well-heeled enthusiasts and drivers flocked to buy this paragon of fast road cars, enticed by its sharp handling, powerful and smooth engine, and impeccable road manners.
The engine, itself a thing of beauty, is an iconic mechanical sculpture today. Camboxes, which were hand-scraped in a bright-cut pattern by factory artisans, concealed the dual overhead camshafts driven by helical-tooth gears at the rear of the block. The remarkable result was more than the sum of its parts: eight decades later, the Bugatti Type 57 ranks as one of the most significant automobiles of all time.
Technical Specs
3,245 CC DOHC Inline 8-Cylinder Engine
Single Twin-Choke Stromberg UUR2 Carburetor
Roots-Type Supercharger
160 BHP at 5,000 RPM
4-Speed Manual Gearbox
4-Wheel Bugatti-Lockheed Hydraulic Drum Brakes
Front Solid-Axle Suspension with Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs
Rear Live Axle with Reversed Quarter-Elliptical Leaf Springs