Elegance In Motion

The Bugatti Type 59 stands as a pinnacle of automotive artistry and performance from the golden age of motorsport. Introduced in the early 1930s, this last of all the classic Bugatti Grand Prix racing cars epitomises a perfect blend of engineering prowess and exquisite elegance. Renowned for its sleek design, advanced technical solutions and storied racing history, the Type 59 remains a symbol of the Bugatti marque’s relentless pursuit of excellence.

Bugatti was used to winning and no other manufacturer had achieved more successes in Grand Prix racing since the early twenties than the racing cars from Molsheim in Alsace. No other cars were as visually and mechanically pleasing as these light and nimble machines created by Ettore Bugatti. But at the beginning of the 1930s it was harder than ever for Bugatti to compete against racing cars whose makers were able to call upon large state funding. 

It can be truly asserted that the Bugatti Type 59 was perhaps the last romantic Grand Prix racing car – more fitted to the times of the gentleman racing drivers than the more pragmatic and politically tense times of the 1930s.

Every single detail about this car was designed to be beautiful as well as practical, regardless of cost. The piano-wire wheels of the Type 59 are a perfect example. Their design separated the forces on the wheel. Driving and braking forces were taken through a thin disc attached from hub to rim by gear teeth; side and vertical loads could thus be taken through fine radial wires. The solution was technically elegant; the appearance was truly beautiful.

The mechanism of the carburettor linkage, with its two opposing gear sectors to synchronise the throttle butterflies, is another wonderful example of how incredibly beautiful this racing car is. This book tells the story of the Bugatti Type 59 in all its detail. It is the first ever book on the last ever pre-war Bugatti Grand Prix car – which also signalled the end of this iconic French marque.

Never before has a single racing car been explained in such elaborate detail as this, the rarest and most beautiful Grand Prix Bugatti of them all.

Book I

The Technical
DevelopmenT

Book I opens with beautiful photographs taken in California when the cars gathered for the first time since the 1930s for the Pebble Beach Concours in 2019. Book I is then devoted to the technical development of the Type 59 and its derivatives. It starts with an introduction of the evolution of the Bugatti Grand Prix car into its final incarnation, the Type 59. Then follows a description of every important component of the Type 59 works racing cars and the brilliant and often unconventional engineering behind them. Chassis, front axle, engine, gearbox, drivetrain and the body – to name just a few – are all described in depth.

Later chapters deal with the many developments and derivatives of the original Type 59, from the Type 59/57G and Type 59/50B to the remarkably successful ‘Tank’ sports racers. This includes a thorough analysis of the engines and transmissions used in these cars – not least the almost mythical ‘composite’ engine from the very end of the 1930s. Special CAD drawings have been created exclusively for the book and an enormous amount of unseen period pictures, original factory drawings and documents from the personal archives of the engineers and designers in period are reproduced. The book concludes with biographies of the most important figures of the works team, including Bugatti family members, and the engineers who designed the car.

Book II

THE RACING 

SEASONS

Book II covers all the racing seasons and every single race in which a Bugatti Type 59 or one of its derivatives participated in period – from the first race in San Sebastián in 1933, up to the very last race in which a car based on a Type 59 frame ran: in the Bois de Boulogne in 1945. Book II covers not only the racing career all the Type 59s, but also the races of the Bugatti works racing cars which shared components with the Type 59, such as the Type 59/57G sports car, the Type 57G Tanks of 1936 and 1937, the mysterious Type 57S45 Tanks of 1937, and the Type 57C Tank of 1939. Biographies of all works drivers and the mechanics complete Book II. This book is illustrated with contemporary racing pictures, posters and artwork, most of them never seen before, especially as large-format reproductions in very high quality. 

Book III

THE BIOGRAPHIES

Book III covers the post-works histories of all the individual Type 59 racing cars and of surviving chassis, including club racing after the Second World War up to the present day. Book III also contains the biographies of the most important custodians of each car. Specially commissioned studio photographs taken by world-renowned photographer Michael Furman show five of the cars in detail.