1937 Bugatti 57C Van Vooren Cabriolet

doubted from what we saw. The suspension was good throughout the range, aided by friction dampers controller from the dashboard.

After lunch at the famous ‘Hostellerie du Pur - Sang’, that unique inn -cum-clubhouse which ‘M. le Patron’ has built to accommodat e those who visit the factory, Jean Bugatti came with us instead of Dreyfus and we went out on to the high road to obtain a series of acceleration figures. Without doubt this latest product of the Molsheim factory is ‘une voiture de pur - sang’, and no one can deny the benefits of racing when they experience the high performance and ease of handling which are directly derived from high speed international competition. The maximum speed on the level is about 95mph with closed bodywork and would be comfortably over 100 in the case of an open car. 70 to 75 mph can be obtained in third gear and 50 in second and at 60mph on top gear the engine is doing approximately 2,500 rpm. A rev counter is not fitted as no harm results even if the engine speed reaches 5,500 rpm. In the course of the timed tests the car several times reached 105 mph on slight down-hill slopes and a flying kilometer was covered at over 100 mph. The standing kilometer was done in 39 seconds. All this was carried out with hardly a murmur from the engine and Jean Bugatti finds that a fast average, even of over 60 mph can be kept up with much less effort in a closed car than an open one. After completing the tests we had occasion to go to Strasbourg, a drive which was performed with all the verve for which Jean Bugatti is famous. We arrived there too early of course, so the time was spent in driving through crowded streets of the town at 7 to 10 mph on top gear. Another feature was shown on the return journey, when the driver suddenly executed a series of zig-zags at 60 to demonstrate the absence of rolling, but our new passenger, which had not yet become accustomed to Jean’s virtuosity at the wheel, did not seem to appreciate it. Turning to the technical side of the car, the engine is a straight-eight nit with two overhead camshafts and gives 140 horse power at 4,800 rpm. The valves ar inclined to one another at 90 degrees with the sparking plugs in the centre of the head, and the camshafts are driven by gears at the rear end of th engine. White metal is used in the nine (six) main bearings and for the big-ends. The cylinder head and block are in one unit and the cam-cases are made in that hand polished aluminum which is the joy of every Bugatti owner. The distributor and petrol pump are driven from the rear end of the offside camshaft and two coils are mounted at the rear of the dashboard. A single vertical Zenith carburetor is fitted on the offside. Water pump, starter and dynamo are all carried at the near side of the engine. The engine and gearbox unit has a rigid four-point suspension.

An open propeller shaft is used and the back-axle reaction is taken by the usual long torque member.

The top line of the chassis runs straight as far as the back axle, where the side members are swept up, but from a depth of 10 inches at the rear engine mounting, the side members taper to the size of a normal dumbiron at the front of the chassis. The front axle is built up from two hollow sections with a shouldered shaft in the middle. A large nut with a right and left hand