Bugatti: First launch of the 59/50 85 years ago
RARITY The 1938 Cork Grand Prix was the first race contested by the Bugatti Type 59/50 with a 50-BIII engine. The lightweight monoposto was developed and improved over several years.
Only a few Bugatti factory racing cars were built in Molsheim, Alsace, from 1909 to 1963. With the Type 59, Bugatti conceived the last pure Grand Prix racing car under the leadership of company founder Ettore Bugatti more than 80 years ago. One of the most important of these was the Type 59/50 BIII with chassis number 441352 and frame number 6, the so-called Cork racing car, which was primarily designed by Ettore's son Jean.
3-liter in-line eight-cylinder engine
Details such as the piano-string spoked wheels testify to innovation, attention to detail and perfectionism. Experts therefore consider the Type 59 with its further developments to be the most beautiful racing car of the pre-war years. It was powered by a 3-liter in-line eight-cylinder engine with twin overhead camshafts and a supercharger. But the Cork race car also demonstrated Bugatti's connection between automotive engineering and art.
Ettore Bugatti came from a creative family. His father architect unique pieces, often inspired by Turkish and Japanese ornaments. Rembrandt Bugatti, Ettore's younger brother, as a sculptor also modeled the upright elephant as the radiator mascot of the Type 41 Royale.
Last use at a Grand Prix
The Type 59 with the 50 BIII engine drove its last race in 1938 at the French Grand Prix in Reims. It was the last official entry for this car and also Bugatti's last at a Grand Prix before the Second World War. At the beginning of the war, Bugatti moved its inventory from Alsace to Bordeaux. It was not until the 1950s that the racing car reappeared - as a rolling chassis without the ornate bodywork.
In 1964, American Bugatti enthusiast Ray Jones bought the Type 59 and tracked down the upgraded 3-liter supercharged engine at the Bugatti factories. Jones searched for three decades until he had all the car's parts together. The sleek bodywork makes the Type 59 an automotive sculpture that was as much at home on racetracks as it was at art exhibitions.
