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Changes and tragedies surrounding a super racing car - the Bugatti Type 54

Name: Bugatti 54 1931
Brand: Bugatti

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Created on January 14, 2013

Text:

Bernhard Brägger / Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Bonhams

Courtesy of Bonhams

Bruno von Rotz

Daniel Reinhard

Bonhams

Courtesy of Bonhams

Bruno von Rotz

Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - was difficult to drive

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - consisted of parts from various other Bugatti models

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - Varzi with the 5-liter Bugatti in Monza

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - under Lobkowicz the car drove in a different color combination - probably taken in 1932

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - Lobkowicz was the second owner of the beautiful Bugatti

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - in single-seater configuration

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - pretty much exactly as it drove under Varzi in Monza at the time

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - re-bodied several times, now as it was in Monza in 1931

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - form follows purpose

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - 'Formula Libre' - (almost) everything was allowed

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - this was the view most opponents got to see

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - offered at the Bonhams auction at the Grand Palais in 2013 - this is not about comfort

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - the functional cockpit

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - in-line eight-cylinder engine with supercharger

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - the in-line eight-cylinder engine with a displacement of 4.9 liters

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - the car has retained most of its mechanical components

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - Bugatti sign on the engine

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - Rev counter with red area above 5,500 rpm

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - stamped identification numbers

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - Manufacturer's insignia

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - Fuel filler cap

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - Fuel filler caps

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - mechanical details, seen at the Goodwood Revival 2011

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Bugatti T 54 (1931) - at the Goodwood Revival 2012

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Bugatti Type 54 (1931) - at the Goodwood Revival 2011

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Summary

In February 2013, Bonhams will be auctioning a particularly rare Bugatti at the Grand Palais in Paris, the Type 54 in which Achille Varzi raced at Monza in 1931. This racing car report tells the story of the nine Bugatti Type 54s built and shows the first one built in detail in the picture.

This article contains the following chapters

Assembled from components
First race in Monza
Racing successes and tragedies
The transformations of chassis 54201
Use in historic racing
Figurehead at the Bonhams Paris auction.
Chassis list for the Bugatti Type 54

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Achille Varzi was a gifted driver, he developed an enormous sensitivity for a racing car, few could match him. He only had two accidents in his career, dying in the second one at the Bern GP. His driving style was unspectacular and more committed to physics and thus the racing line than to the public. Thanks to his talent, Varzi was also able to cope with extremely powerful racing cars that were difficult to drive, and the Bugatti Type 54 was clearly one of them. In the "free" racing car formula (Formula Libre) of the years 1928 to 1933, the Bugatti 35 B and its successor, the Type 51, hardly stood a chance, so in 1931 the decision was made in Molsheim to compete with a more powerful car - the Bugatti Type 54. A new racing car was built from existing components in a very short time - 13 days, in fact.

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