Baby Bugatti Part II: A Free Premium Feature

Read Part I.
In Part II, the mystery of “The Type That Never Was” deepens. Our intrepid model builder also tells us about chassis numbers, specs, and how to buy a Baby Bugatti.

By Marshall Buck
The very first Baby Bugatti was built for Roland Bugatti, Ettore’s five year old son. Proof again that it’s good to be born with a “silver spoon” or in Roland’s case, more like a silver steering wheel. The Baby made its public debut at the 1927 Milan Automobile show, and was priced at 3,900 FF, which seems to be the price most were sold for, though some were delivered at higher prices.

The highest delivered price I am aware of was what may have been the last sale which was as late as July 1938 with a price of 5890 FF. Typically, important Bugatti clients not only bought a full size Bugatti, but usually a little one as well. Amongst the usual list of affluent enthusiast buyers were royal families and celebrities. But as we alluded to in the first part of our story, the Babys were always Babys, and never called T52s (even by royalty).

The mystery deepens
No one is sure when, where or how the mythical T-52 designation came to be. Perhaps the myth started with the late Hugh Conway’s first book on Bugatti, published in 1962 that had the incorrect designation within, referring to the Baby as the Type 52. It is even possible that he may have published a mention or reference to the wrong designation as early as 1959 in the BOC “Bugantics” publication, but I don’t have confirmation on that. Regardless of an exact start date for Conway’s T-52 reference, it was most likely his writing and publication of that designation which may have been what started the ball rolling. After that, and throughout the years, other authors and journalists simply used that as reference, and perpetuated the incorrect T-52 designation without ever bothering to properly research it. (I did the same until I started digging.) That wouldn’t be the first time misinformation has been written and quoted by the populace, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Why or how did Conway let this designation slip by? Who knows; but having corresponded with Richard Day on this, I am in full agreement with him that since Conway had such a close association with Molsheim it is more likely that the mis-designation originally came from senior staff at the factory who were less than concerned with accuracy.

Now before you start sending me hate mail, put those poison pens down for a minute. Please note that I am a very big fan of the late Hugh Conway, and I hold him in extremely high regard. I believe the incorrect designation (as mentioned above) was unintended, and never again checked. Given where it was originally supplied to him from that is very understandable, especially when considering the vast amount of information on the marque he dealt with. These things do happen. Even NASA and VeloceToday have been known to have made some mistakes.

And, how about this. In 1981, Griffith Borgeson published “Bugatti by Borgeson: The dynamics of mythology”, which was widely criticized by other Bugatti historians. In it Borgeson perpetuates the T52 myth, writing in a caption “Roland, in the original T52, with Lydia and L’ebe.” Criticized or not, Borgeson wrote the book after a long series of interviews with his friend, the aforementioned Roland Bugatti, for whom the car was built in the first place. Aha! Why did this very obvious error get by Roland?

No one knows.

Regardless of what some may think; let me make this perfectly clear, the only production child’s car manufactured by Bugatti was officially designated Type Baby – nothing else.

Now that we know what to call it, how many are there?
The Baby is a half scale rendition of the iconic Type 35, and it’s rare, but not uber rare. It is estimated that around 500 of these were produced at the Molsheim factory from 1927 to 1930. That figure combines both the SWB and LWB versions. What? Didn’t know there were two different wheelbases built you say? Neither did I, but there are; more about that in a moment.

It is unclear as to how many still exist, but the general consensus is that very many if not most, have not survived. There is no definitive record anywhere as to the exact number produced; and what is there is more than a little confusing. Within the factory sales records are many Babys with delivery dates showing them to be out of sequence according to their individual numbers. The highest chassis number on record is 499A which was sold by the factory in July of 1936. Certainly 499A was one of the very last as what appears to be the remaining five Babys were sold between November 1934 and July of 1936. However, we have one more out of sequence delivery for number 456 which has an even later sale date of July 1938. My head hurts now, how is yours?

Wheelbase, LWB and SWB
Now about the wheelbase, and back to the factory brochure for a moment. On its cover it reads “for children ages 6 to 8.” That is my pigeon translation of the French text, but close enough. The first Babys built were short wheel base and what I’ll call short body; perfect for an average size five-year-old such as Roland. These can be easily spotted in two ways. First, they just look proportionally correct, like a shrunken Type 35 that they are supposed to be. If you’re not sure, then count the hood louvers, 16 per side. The long wheel base cars have longer hoods/bonnets. It is thought that this later change was made to accommodate older and larger children. Aside from not quite looking like a mini T-35 you can again use the hood louvers as your guide; 21 per side.

Once again, there is no definitive record of exactly how many of each SWB and LWB were built, though according to sales records it does appear that there were fewer SWB’s sold/delivered. The records are confusing as dates and individual numbers dart back and forth leading everyone to believe that you could order either the better looking SWB or the more practical LWB variant. The “A” following the last digit distinguished the LWB model.

Ettore’s Baby does demonstrate the overall thinking of Bugatti, and here are its basic specifications:
Aluminum body with two leather straps.
One side mounted spare wheel & tire.
Seat upholstered in leatherette type material or possibly leather.
Detachable Cast aluminum wheels.
Cast front axle.
Four drum brakes with expanding wooden shoes.
Powered by a 12 volt, 60 amp electric motor geared to the rear axle.
As per the cover of the brochure, max speed is a claimed “15 a 18 KM a L’Heure” About 10 to 12 mph.
Variable speed via a throttle type of lever.
Reverse gear via a switch reversing polarity of the motor.
Dunlop tires which were exactly half size of originals. Most likely that Dunlop made these tires especially for Bugatti.
Weight 150 lbs. Probably the SWB, with the LWB being just a bit more, but no stats to define this.
Wheelbase: SWB 1.2 meters (which is half scale of the Type 35). LWB 1.32 meters.
Color(s). No reference in the records and again, no one seems certain about colors offered, but looking at numerous period photos, it appears that there were two or three original colors. Most in blue, then yellow, and maybe red.

See them at the Zoo
Many of these 1/2 scale cars were sold to various fair grounds around the world, some located at fashionable summer resorts. At some of these resorts, children’s Baby Bugatti races were held. It is known that many of these small Bugattis ended up in locals as far away as Brazil and Argentina. Amongst factory sales records, one such sale was for twenty of these; sold to a buyer in Sao Paulo, and he paid 3,900 FF each! Another large order was from the Buenos Aires Zoo in Argentina for twenty-three of these for rental. Being that E.B. was always interested in any promotion of Bugatti: there were some races held just for these half pints at certain Bugatti specific events, some known to have taken place in Spain and France as pre-races to the official real car races.

How to buy
Want one, do you? First, make sure it’s a real one, not a reproduction. Expect to pay in the plus minus range of $60k and up to around $85K in Europe. These don’t come up for sale very often, and when they do it’s usually at an auction. If you do not want to wait for that, then contact a Bugatti specialist; there are many. From my research I know that Competition Motors Ltd. has sold several of these over the years www.competitionmotorsltd.com If this acquisition is for your collection, I say go for it. However, if you want one just for your little prince or princess to bomb around in then you might want to consider one of the many reproductions available for a substantially lower entry fee. Like anything in this world that has some cachet or other perceived value to it, and often where someone sees an opportunity to cash in…..they have done so. Though not always a bad thing; I have mixed feelings on this, and have been privy to some rather heated discussions on said subject, which can be argued on from now until the cows come home.

There are many reproductions which have been made by numerous companies and individuals worldwide. They vary in authenticity and pricing…most appear to be of very good quality. Among them is the Argentinean company PurSang, who is the most well-known maker of these Baby reproductions. Just the LWB version is offered. They have been making these for about 10 years now, and each is made to order. Figure on setting aside somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000 or so to join the club.

The Type Baby is an interesting side note in Bugatti history and a testament to the allure of the mark. Suffice it to say, that with all that is known and the quantity produced, this model was without a doubt a commercial success of the time for Bugatti. These were toys when first produced, albeit they were for the wealthy, but nonetheless they were toys for their children. That said, the Type Baby has always been considered a real Bugatti amongst collectors and marque enthusiasts. And now of course they are sought after bona-fide collector’s pieces.

A note about The Bugatti Trust. Simply put, I could not have written this to the extent that I have without their help and access to information and photos contained within their archives. They are an amazing and highly recommended resource for both enthusiasts and researchers. Housed within their facility is a phenomenal collection of information. If you happen to be a nut for historic photos as I am, then set aside a couple of days for viewing all of them. Even better, you can purchase copies at www.bugatti-trust.co.uk

About Marshall Buck

Marshall Buck founded Creative Miniature Associates, Inc. in 1982. Since then he has been involved with high-end automotive miniatures as a collector, model maker, manufacturer, and broker; catering to serious collectors and offering a combination of services not found anywhere else. A great deal of investigative research, some of it exhaustive goes into producing and building historically accurate models to the level he is well known for.

Marshall has authored a number of articles on models for various publications and wrote a featured model column for Vintage Motorsport magazine from 1988 to 1999. In 2007 he started hitting the keyboard again for Sports Car Market and Corvette Market magazines, and now has joined VeloceToday.

Growing up in the USA and Europe, he was immersed in art and culture from childhood; his parents were collectors of fine art and antiques, which gave him his appreciation for quality and craftsmanship. From the age of eight onwards he was always building model kits.

After his education, he held various positions in professional photography, then television production on various TV shows, and onto the post production management side. During all this time he was honing his model making skills while custom building model cars for himself and for a few select customers, one of whom was an extremely well known car collector and part owner of Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. In 1982, that client convinced and funded Marshall to go into model making full time. He took time off from the model business in 1986, doing a three year stint with Miller Motorcars; and in 1989 he went back to model making full time. Since then, he and his models have garnered much publicity and praise world wide – some of which even brought him a personal visit from David Letterman. Marshall’s client list is a virtual who’s who of some of the most well known car enthusiasts around.