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Some of the Best Roadsters Have Been Coming From France for Almost a Century

While Ettore Bugatti was one of the most respected names in the automotive business before WWII, most of his best roadsters were created by one of his sons, Jean Bugatti, who unfortunately died way too soon, but left a legacy that it's honored even today.
Bugatti Roadster T40A 15 photos
Photo: Bugatti
Jean Bugatti and the La Royale Roadster T41 RoyaleBUGATTI Roadster T44BUGATTI Roadster Veyron Grand SportBUGATTI Roadster VeyronGrand Sport-VitesseBUGATTI Roadster T49BUGATTI Roadster T40ABUGATTI Roadster T55BUGATTI Roadster T57 Grand RaidBUGATTI Roadster T49BUGATTI Roadster VeyronGrand SportBUGATTI Roadster VeyronGrand SportBUGATTI Roadster VeyronGrand Sport-VitesseBUGATTI Roadster T57S CorsicaGilesBUGATTI Roadster VeyronGrand Sport
Back in the days of automotive pioneering, just a few names pushed the industry forward, and the best way carmakers could advertise their products was by racing. Buick, Oldsmobile, or Ford learned that in the U.S. Over in Europe, on the other hand, Mercedes-Benz, Lancia, or Alfa Romeo raced on several tracks, including the one from Le Mans. A victory there valued more than anything in terms of advertising. Between WWI and WWII, that track was dominated by Alfa Romeo, Bentley, and Bugatti. Unlike nowadays race cars, those vehicles were built to go to the track, race, win, and return home on their wheels.

The very first car young Ettore Bugatti built was named Type 2, and he made it for Barron de Dietrich. Like most cars from that year, 1902, it was an open-top self-propelled vehicle that had more in common with a horse carriage than with a regular car.

But Ettore Bugatti started his own car-making company and, together with his son Jean Bugatti, created some of the best roadsters in the world between 1920 and 1939. And proved that with a class win at 24 hours of Le Mans in 1923 with a Bugatti Brescia 16S. But that was just the beginning.

BUGATTI Roadster T40A
Photo: Bugatti
The French carmaker based in Molsheim introduced the Type 40 in 1926 as a closed vehicle. In 1930 Bugatti added the Type 40 A roadster. It was fitted with a 1.6-liter, 3 valves/cylinder engine that produced a mere 50 hp. Still, that was enough to propel the roadster up to 130 kph (80 mph).

In 1927, Bugatti introduced the Type 44, produced for three years in over 1,000 units. However, the open-top version of this model is scarce. The roadster didn't even have doors, so the occupants had to climb inside the cockpit. Under the hood, the car featured a 3.0-liter inline-eight engine good for around 80 hp. It might not sound a lot by today's standards, but it was more than enough for those times. The car could achieve up to 145 kph (90 mph).

Customers loved the Type 44, and Bugatti knew that they would ask for more and, starting in 1930, introduced the Type 49 roadster. It remained one of the most beautiful roadsters produced by the carmaker. Its sleek lines, with teardrop-shaped front and rear fenders and sloped rear end, offered a sporty image. Moreover, it featured two doors so ladies could get in quickly. Even though it was heavier than the Type 44, it reached the same maximum speed as its predecessor. That was possible thanks to the upgraded 3.2-liter engine with 90 hp that featured three valves per cylinder and an overhead camshaft.

Jean Bugatti and the La Royale Roadster T41 Royale
Photo: Bugatti
La Royale is, perhaps, the most famous pre-WWII Bugatti. It was built for kings and, unfortunately, was not a commercial success. It was not only enormous in size but also very expensive. Moreover, it appeared at the wrong time, when the world struggled with the Great Depression. Still, the carmaker produced six chassis, and at least one of them was a roadster ordered by the industrial magnate Armand Esders. He asked Jean Bugatti to create a vehicle for daytime driving, so the six-meter (19.7 ft) car didn't sport any headlights. But after two years, the roadster bodywork was replaced with a Coupe de Ville one. With 300 horses under the hood, it remained the most powerful open-top Bugatti produced before WWII.

In the same 1932 year, Bugatti introduced a supercharged roadster: the Type 55. The inline-eight powerplant was carried over from the Type 51 race-car and produced a massive 160 hp that allowed the 950 kg (2,094 lbs) roadster to reach 180 kph (112 mph). But the carmaker already knew that the chassis was just as important as the engine and produced the Type 55 with a suspension carried over from the Type 54 race car. Unfortunately, only 38 open-top versions of this vehicle were ever made. That's why it reached a record price of 7.1-million USD in 2020 at the Bonhams' annual Amelia Island auction.

But Jean Bugatti's masterpiece is the Type 57 roadster. The carmaker introduced the beautiful, art-deco-styled vehicle in 1933. It was fitted with an inline-eight 3.3-liter engine that produced 145 hp. In those times, carmakers used to cut deals with various coachbuilders to create custom bodyworks for deep-pocket clients. And that's how the Roadster Grand Raid Gangloff was born. Coachbuilder Gangloff from Colmar produced the aluminum body and mounted it on a Type 57 chassis. With lines that followed Jean Bugatti's shaped Type 57 roadster, the Grand Raid is defined by the flowing lines of the hood, the two-piece windshield, the bulges behind the cockpit, and the teardrop, organic fenders. This unique roadster was restored and is now in Lowman Museum in the Netherlands.

BUGATTI Roadster T57S CorsicaGiles
Photo: Bugatti
In 1938 a British Colonel named Godfrey Gilles commissioned the British bodywork manufacturer Corsica Coachworks to create a one-of-a-kind roadster based on the Type 57 SC. Even though it shared the same V-shaped radiator grille at the front, the front and rear fenders were unmistakably inspired by Jean Bugatti's design for the factory-bodywork Type 57. This unique version sported a two-piece windshield in an angular shape offering a better aerodynamic than the factory version. Its 3.8-liter engine produced enough power to propel the car over 200 kph (124 mph).

In 1939, a Bugatti Type 57 Tank was the overall winner of the 24 hours of LeMans for the second time. It was a version that showed the horseshoe-shaped radiator grille, and even though it was a legit race car, it was street-legal. After the race, on August 11, Jean Bugatti took the "Tank" for a test near the Duppigheim village, close to Molsheim. Unfortunately, he died while trying to avoid a cyclist and crashed into a tree.

In September of that year, WWII started. After the war, the factory was destroyed, and Ettore tried to get back with a new model named 73. But unfortunately, he died in 1947. Roland Bugatti, one of his sons, tried to revive the factory, but he couldn't.

After changing hands a few times, in 1987, Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli revived the French brand and produced the EB110. At first, things looked good, but in 1995 the North American and European economies went through a recession that sealed the fate for the Bugatti once again. That until 1998, when Volkswagen acquired the brand from Proton, a Malaysian carmaker, and put the French brand back on the automotive industry map.

In just seven years, Bugatti went from zero to hero by introducing the Veyron 16.4. It was the first production vehicle that offered over 1,000 PS. But the story, obviously, continued with a new roadster that followed the legacy left by Ettore and Jean Bugatti. Moreover, Volkswagen returned the brand to Molsheim, and in 2008, it launched the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport. With the top off, that roadster reached 360 kph (223,7 mph), while with a particular polycarbonate roof exceeded 400 kph (248,6 mph).

BUGATTI Roadster VeyronGrand Sport\-Vitesse
Photo: Bugatti
The story of Bugatti's roadster entered a new era. Soon, perhaps, there will be no internal-combustion engines behind their cockpits. Its partnership with Croatian carmaker Rimac, the builder of the mighty Nevera, is just a new beginning. So maybe we won't see their result very soon. But Rome wasn't built in a day either. One thing is sure, though, there will be other Bugatti roadsters. Just wait.
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About the author: Tudor Serban
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Tudor started his automotive career in 1996, writing for a magazine while working on his journalism degree. From Pikes Peaks to the Moroccan desert to the Laguna Seca, he's seen and done it all.
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