Roland Garros/Black Bess Bugatti Part 2: Bugatti T 18
Part 2 describes the development of the Garros Type Bugatti and the car when owned by French hero Roland Garros.
The Development of the Bugatti “Roland Garros”
Before he set up his own company, Ettore Bugatti designed engines and chassis for various manufacturers, among them De Dietrich, Hermes, Mathis, Deutz and Peugeot. Bugatti’s own factory in Molsheim was operational in 1910 but he continued to work for others. One of these projects for Peugeot was to design racing car for the 1912 Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France and the Coupe de l’Auto.
The engine Bugatti developed for Peugeot was a large (around 5 liters) four-cylinder with a single overhead camshaft. One can quite well understand that Ettore drew on his experience with an earlier design he had done for Deutz, and also incorporated design features of the small engine he produced under his own label. Apart from the size of bore and stroke, the main difference was that the larger engine had three valves per cylinder (two inlet valves and one exhaust valve).
1910 Bugatti-designed Deutz had a SOHC, Bugatti's first. Note chain drive.
Autosport Racing Car Show, Birmingham
Superb Lancia Sports Prototype display.
Autosport International………otherwise known as the Racing Car show.
Story and photos by Roy Smith
And what a show it was! On January 10-13, the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in the UK hosted the annual show for the business of Motor Sport. [Read more…] about Autosport Racing Car Show, Birmingham
Our Features This Week, January 9, 2013
You can still view all 208 articles from 2012 if you scroll down!strong>
Roland Garros/Black Bess Bugatti Part 1: Roland Garros
By Gijsbert-Paul Berk
In collaboration with the French Tennis Federation and the Louwman Museum at The Hague, the organizers of the 38th edition of the Rétromobile show in Paris – from 6 to 10 February 2013 – will pay tribute to the French World War I hero Roland Garros.
Among the many fascinating exhibits the visitors to Rétromobile 2013 will be able to admire are the Morane-Saunier type H plane – part of the Amicale Jean-Baptiste Salis collection – which was the first plane ever to cross the Mediterranean 100 years ago. In addition, the famous 5-litre ‘Roland Garros’ Bugatti or ‘Black Bess’, now in the Louwman Museum Collection will be part of the show. (See color photos of ‘Black Bess’.)
This particular Bugatti has a wonderful history that spanned the English Channel and created legends in both France and England. We begin with Roland Garros, its first owner.
The Roland Garros Bugatti
The Rolland Garros Bugatti was first delivered on September 18,1913 as chassis number 474, to the French aviator Roland Garros who was a personal friend of Ettore Bugatti. It was the fourth of a series of seven chassis that Bugatti produced of this four-cylinder five-liter model (encoded by Bugatti historians as the Type 18). However, after the aviator purchased the car, the name “Roland Garros” would thereafter always associated with the model.
Roland Garros was already famous when he was introduced to Ettore Bugatti. Not, as many today think, because he was a French tennis champion; while he did play tennis in school, his fame came as a record-setting aviator. Rolland Garros, as we shall see, was quite an extraordinary person.
Roland Garros/Black Bess Bugatti In Color
[Many years ago, I was made aware of the existence of a rare Bugatti given the name ‘Black Bess’. Over the years I found a few more snippets about the car and its owners, but it wasn’t until Gijsbert-Paul Berk investigated the subject for VeloceToday that I learned the full story of this fantastic Bugatti. Gijsbert-Paul begins a three part story this week, concentrating on the life of Roland Garros. To give our readers an idea of what this legend looks like, we present these color images of ‘Black Bess’, by both Bonhams Auctions and Hugues Vanhoolandt. Ed.]
[Read more…] about Roland Garros/Black Bess Bugatti In Color
MDINA GRAND PRIX, MALTA
It was November 2007 that VeloceToday last published articles about motoring activities on the island of Malta. Check the below stories for a fuller understanding of this article and information about the island of Malta. In this article, David Arrigo writes about the latest series of events and the coming 2013 Vintage Race in this jewel of the Mediterranean.
By David Arrigo
The 2007 Grand Prix de Malte, held on the weekend of October 22, was an unprecedented and phenomenal success, whetting the appetites of the island’s population for more of this kind of historic motorsport. The Maltese islanders had never seen Bugattis in action or many of the other competing exotic cars. The backdrop of bastions, palaces, palm trees and five-star hotels was perfect as pre-war Bugattis battled with Amilcars and Astons. [Read more…] about MDINA GRAND PRIX, MALTA
At Your Command, Over 200 Feature Articles From 2012
Below, click the button on any one of the over 200 articles that appeared in VeloceToday last year. We begin in January 2012, scroll down to December.
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Our Features This Week, December 26th, 2012
We are on a bit of a holiday, so this week we’ll recap the stories about what we have unanimously voted as the best automotive book of 2012, the Talbot-Lago Grand Sport.
Driving the Talbot Lago 2.5 Gran Turismo
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To accompany our stories about the Grand Sport, we asked Gijsbert-Paul Berk if he had a favorite Talbot-Lago. Reaching into his huge bank of automotive experiences, he told us about driving the ultra-rare 2.5 liter 1955-56 Gran Turismo coupe on the banking at Montlhéry. Above, the author’s test car, a Talbot 2.5 liter GT coupé on the cover of the June 1956 issue of the Dutch magazine “Autovisie”. The photo was taken in front of the gate of the stately house called Oostermeer on the bank of the river Amstel near Amsterdam.
I have never owned a Talbot-Lago and they were never on my shortlist. The main reason for this is that when they were new, they were far beyond my financial scope. When they were affordable, as second hand cars, the factory no longer existed, so service and spare parts were a problem. So, it is not that I dislike Anthony Lago’s Talbots; I have driven 4.5 liter sedans, owned by friends. In 1956 I even drove a 2.5 liter GT coupé on the Montlhéry circuit in France. But it was not in a race. [Read more…] about Driving the Talbot Lago 2.5 Gran Turismo