Technology in race cars (1923/1): Bugatti Type 32 - The aero tank

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Technology in race cars (1923/1): Bugatti Type 32 - The aero tank

Created on March 20, 2024

Text:

Gerhard Schütz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Archiv Gerhard Schütz

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K.H. Münter

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Louis Klemantaski

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Jörg Pielmann

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Archiv Martin Schröder

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - a centenarian at full speed

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - the same car in identical condition 73 years later at Dyck Castle

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - aerodynamic aluminum sculpture, nevertheless with an implied horseshoe radiator grille

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - extreme hatchback: the tapered long tail was considered the ideal streamlined shape at the time

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - High-flying: The T32 reveals its technology in the atelier of the "Musée de l'Automobile"

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - the unclad chassis. On display: Chassis bridge with spare wheel holder, differential, fuel tank "triumphal arch" and brake cylinder directly on the pedal behind the front wheel

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - the unclad chassis

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - the unclad chassis. Clearly visible here: the black trailing arms for the front and rear axles are positioned far inwards

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - It doesn't get any tighter than this: view from above into the driver's footwell next to the engine. From top to bottom: Clutch pedal, longitudinal member, trailing arm, accelerator roller and brake pedal

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - The axle for the starter motor runs through the radiator. Also clearly visible: the chassis bridge for the front suspension

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - view over the left rear wheel. On the right, the gearbox with the perforated, black trailing arm

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - drive of the camshaft via a king shaft

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - Pierre de Vizcaya reaches 189 km/h on June 6, 1924 with chassis 4057, the museum car, in Arpajon at the flying kilometer

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - French Grand Prix 1923: Ernest Friderich on chassis 4059 in the tricky Membrolle bend on his way to third place.

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Benz RH (1923) - cigar shape, high ground clearance, central engine

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Voisin C6 (1923) - mixture of wedge and wing shape, low ground clearance, self-supporting bodywork

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C.I.T.A No. 25 (1899) - better known as "La Jamais Contente", early record-breaking vehicle with aerodynamic bodywork

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Bugatti Type 32 (1923) - Elisabeth Junek's yellow Bugatti 32. Recognizable by the horn (road-legal!) and the water thermometer on the radiator, Prague 1923

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - The yellow Bugatti 32 (chassis 4059) of the legendary Czech racing driver Elisabeth Junek, presumably before the start of a hill climb

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - photographed in 1941 at the Bugatti factory, probably chassis 4060

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - The book by Jean-Philippe Müller and Gerhard Schütz

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - probably the first car with a pontoon shape

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Impressions from the Classic Days at Schloss Dyck - Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" from 1923 next to its little brother

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) - the Junek couple pose in the difficult-to-drive racing car

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Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) – aerodynamische Aluminiumskulptur, trotzdem mit angedeutetem Hufeisen-Kühlergrill

Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) – Karosserieprofil als Tragflächenquerschnitt, geringe Bodenfreiheit, Frontmotor, Getriebe hinten

Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) – Fliessheck extrem: das spitz zulaufende Langheck galt damals als ideale Stromform

Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) – Abgehoben: Im Atelier des "Musée de l'Automobile" offenbart der T32 seine Technik

Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) – das unverkleidete Fahrgestell

Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) – das unverkleidete Fahrgestell

Summary

Gerhard Schütz's series "Technology in racing cars" has mainly focused on developments and aberrations from the 1950s to the 1970s. However, as there were already interesting racing car concepts before the Second World War, there is now a small encore in three parts dedicated to three pioneering cars from 1923. It starts with the unsuccessful streamlined pioneer Bugatti Type 32.

This article contains the following chapters

Prologue
Bugatti 32
Third place was not enough
Why was the concept not developed further?

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

1923 was a key year in the history of racing car construction. Three avant-garde, aerodynamic designs were created, which brought fundamental innovations that would only become established in the 1960s: Ground-hugging aerodynamics (Bugatti 32), monocoque chassis and wedge shape (Voisin C 6) and central engine (Benz RH) - three missed opportunities to revolutionize racing car construction even then... It is no coincidence that in 1923 three racing cars came onto the track whose concept was determined by aerodynamics right down to the chassis structure. And while highly developed aerodynamics today lead to ever more similar vehicles, in 1923 they inspired three completely different approaches, which form the subject of this short TiR trilogy:

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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Images of this article

Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) – aerodynamische Aluminiumskulptur, trotzdem mit angedeutetem Hufeisen-Kühlergrill

Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) – Karosserieprofil als Tragflächenquerschnitt, geringe Bodenfreiheit, Frontmotor, Getriebe hinten

Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) – Fliessheck extrem: das spitz zulaufende Langheck galt damals als ideale Stromform

Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) – Abgehoben: Im Atelier des "Musée de l'Automobile" offenbart der T32 seine Technik

Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) – das unverkleidete Fahrgestell

Bugatti Type 32 "Tank" (1923) – das unverkleidete Fahrgestell

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