The Type 35 was the most successful of the Bugatti racing cars. Its arch-shaped radiator that had evolved from the one of the Bugatti Type 13 Brescia, was to become one of the marque’s most known feature. The Type 35 was extremely successful, winning over 1,000 races in its time. It took the Grand Prix World Championship in 1926 after winning 351 races and setting 47 records in the two prior years. Bugatti won the Targa Florio for five consecutive years, from 1925 through 1929, with the Type 35.
The Type 35 was not just a racing car. It was a technical masterpiece: For the first time ever, the company’s founder Ettore Bugatti used a crankshaft supported by two roller bearings and three ball bearings – and this crankshaft is still seen as a feat of engineering to this day. It could run at speeds of up to 6,000 rpm to power the eight pistons in the engine, which started out with a capacity of just 2.0 litres. At the time, it was one of the only car capable of achieving such power. Thanks to other changes – such as using two carburettors instead of one – the car’s power increased to around 95 PS, which was transmitted by a wet multi-plate clutch. The drive system in the first versions of the Type 35 was able to achieve speeds of over 190 km/h. The less expensive basic model, the 35A, was based on a 2.0-litre eight-cylinder engine with 75 PS. In its later iteration, the Type 35 B (which had a 2.3-litre eight-cylinder engine and compressor), the Bugatti’s power increased to up to 140 PS and its top speeds exceeded 215 km/h. As well as their incredible performance, the engines were primarily renowned for their reliability and endurance.
