Motoring
Bugatti beauties
Alan Judd
Idrove a Bugatti the other day. Actually, I didn't but I came closer to it than I've ever been and this is probably my one and only chance to use that sentence. What I drove was a replica Bugatti made by Teal's of Manchester, but — to my untutored eye, hand and ear , - it looked, felt and sounded like the real thing. It was escorted by its elegant lady owner throughout, which was fortunate. We put down the hood and it didn't quite rain, nor did I crash it — quite Ettore of that ilk (1881-1947) was an Italian engineer of genius who was born in Milan and built his first car when he was .17. He moved to the Strasbourg region and was establishing himself as a German motor manufacturer when post-first world war border changes made him French. Many of his cars achieved racing fame in the Thirties, others were famed for their beautiful bodies, all for the originality and detail of their engineering design. The first published Register of Bugattis (.1954) claims that every part of the first car, down to the last nut and bolt, was made by Ettore himself. An enthusiast who built for enthusiasts, he treated the motor car as an art form. He epitomised high style but he was more than a stylist; they all performed. Even in these days of relative depression in the classic car market, a 1938 Type 570 was recently sold by Christie's (US) for £155,119.
The replica I drove looked as if it might have been modelled on a 1926 Type 40 'It's frorn the Autumn collection.' 3/4-seat open tourer (though I am no expert and will humbly accept correction). It has modern running gear, with an 1800cc MG engine and a very easy four-speed gearbox. The body is racing green. the headlamps are gleaming and caressible and it roars and growls in keeping with its looks. Doors are dispensed with, so you climb in and out of the cream leather seats, while the handbrake is sited comfortably on the outside. There is a snug black hood for inclement weather, in which case the hand that operates the handbrake might want a glove. The dashboard is clear and simple and the temperature gauge, perched on top of the inverted horseshoe grill (the grill is a distinctive Bugatti feature), can be used as your aiming point. it is easy to drive so long as you appreciate that tall thin cross-ply tyres do not hold the road on corners like short fat modern radials.. There's plenty of torque and enough accel- eration to raise your hair somewhat. Was it a Bugatti around which Isadora Duncan's scarf so fatally (and so understandably) entwined itself? I hope the car was all right..
The economics of running one of these cars are relatively favourable. New, it cost £25,000 about five years ago and, since the replica car market bobs along in the wake of the originals, it's now worth £12,000- 15,000 (it could be for sale if anyone is interested). it has done 5,000 miles and limited mileage insurance via the Teal Owner's Club and Adrian Flux of King's Lynn is £256 (first quote, from a well- known insurance company, was £1,900), It came with an appropriately old-looking, but in fact Northern Irish, registration.
So, what you get for all this is a car that looks old and distinguished but is made from modern bits and should be as reliable as its modern equivalents while providing — if you like that in-contact-with-the- roads-and-elements feeling — more fun. Certainly, vou don't have to drive it very fast to get all the fun you want, and you do get noticed.
What you don't want with a car like this is my feet. They are good platforms — reli- able, stable, properly aligned, plenty of tread — but they do like to spread, Their prehensibility has been remarked upon. When encased in well-worn veldtshoen, which also like to spread, they are rather too broad to play a very sophisticated melody on the close pedals of a 1920s sports car. Twice I braked and accelerated simultaneously and once my left foot jammed beneath the brake. If I owned such a car I'd drive in bare feet and work the pedals with my toes.
Happily, we missed everything and I spent the rest of the day pondering the great Bugatti beauties — the svelte Type 57SC and the swooping lines of long-bon- neted Royales which seem to flow along. the road. Why don't we make cars with such lines? A waste of steel, perhaps, but money, which can't buy love, can buy beau- ty, and we could afford it.
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