Bugatti Type 57 Stelvio Cabriolet Usine Documentation of the vehicle history of Bugatti Type 57 Stelvio, 57202 By Regine Hansche and Robert Braunschweig Original published in Swiss Classic car magazine Autozeit, September / Oktober 2024 Around a dozen factory convertibles of the Bugatti Type 57 were built, all the others were built by the Carrosserie Gangloff in Colmar, Bugatti's "house coachbuilder". This Bugatti, however, is a prototype that was the only one produced in 1934 with a special design - a "quasi" independent suspension. The history of Bugatti can be divided into two chapters: the years in which Ettore Bugatti created a myth with his company - and then the glorious 1930s, in which his son Jean gave the brand a new face: he turned the brand around and created a new basis for day-to-day business with the Type 57. With the wonderful 3.3-liter inline eight-cylinder engine and two overhead camshafts, Jean also had an impressive engine. Around this he created a variety of models - on different wheelbases and with various engine variants. The engines used in four-door sedans, convertibles and coupes produced between 135 and 200 hp. The name Stelvio - borrowed from the Alpine pass of the same name - was given to the four-seater convertible, which, with its long wheelbase of 330 centimetres, provided ample space for four occupants. As far as its documented history shows, chassis no. 57202 was built in July 1934, but it is an older car than its chassis number suggests; Bugattis only received their chassis number after they were sold! The order of production can usually be determined by the engine number, which in this case is 47, while the body was given 11. This indicates that this car was one of the first examples produced; but there are good reasons to believe that it may have been only the second or third Type 57 chassis built. It also shows that chassis No. 57202 has a wider front track than the standard Type 57. The chronology of owners This Stelvio, owned by Robert Braunschweig from the Basel region, was ordered on June 19, 1934 by the Bugatti representative Monestier in Lyon and delivered on June 30 for 64,000 francs to George Darne in the Quartier de la Solchère in St. Etienne in the Loire region - the owner of a small, fine hunting weapons factory. This sporty convertible belonged to him for the next three years. The second owner of the Bugatti bought it in 1937. His identity is unknown, but it is believed that he died in 1939 after the outbreak of war. The car reappears in 1945 when it was purchased by M. Collange, a dentist in Aubenas in the Ardèche department. By this time, the appearance of its doors had changed. Collange undertook to modify it further by "filling in" the front fenders to resemble those of the production models. The car was sold in 1952 to a certain Mrs. Combes, who owned a garage in Val-des-Bains, and she sold it in 1958 to Henri Girod-Eymery, an enthusiast who enjoyed a certain notoriety as a writer on railway subjects. He also maintained a small private motor museum in Uzès, and it was there that the "57202" was documented in 1962 by the classic car expert Hugh Conway. Girod-Emery kept this Bugatti until the early 1970s, after which it came into the possession of the well-known collectors Francky Dumontant and Hervé Charbonneaux. In the 1990s, «57202» was restored to its original appearance at KCA in Milan, restoring the correct style of doors and wings. It changed hands several more times until it was acquired by the current owner in 2010, who enjoys using it in numerous rallies and concours throughout Europe.

The ingenious idea of ​​Jean Bugatti – The independent suspension The first prototype with independent suspension by Jean Bugatti was the "Crème de Menthe" 57100. Jean Bugatti was very interested in implementing independent suspension. However, his father, Ettore Bugatti, forbade his son from using this design because he was of the opinion that "this was no longer a Bugatti". The "Crème de Menthe" was fundamentally different from all later cars. It had an inclined radiator and independent suspension at the front. This Bugatti was lost over time. It is assumed that the second prototype was then designed as the Type 57 (the Braunschweig car) with a type of independent suspension in the form of a split front axle. However, the effort required for this axle was far too expensive. Left: Front view of the Crème de Menthe, right: front view of the split front axle on 57202. The idea was revived some time later for the Type 57S. The first 50 examples had a split front axle. But it was a simplified design that led to problems. The cars usually went back to the factory where the axles were replaced or soldered. With the production cars, Ettore used his influence and ensured that all were made with conventional axles. The disadvantage of the front suspension with leaf springs is that the axle makes an unwanted steering movement when it compresses and rebounds. When it compresses, the leaf spring stretches and the axle mount moves forwards if it is held at the back. At the front it is held by a rocker to compensate. When it rebounds, it is the other way round: when you drive into a corner, one side compresses and the other extends. So you have an additional steering movement. When you drive over a bump, this causes compression and rebound, which in turn leads to an unwanted steering movement. The car does not come out straight. Jean Bugatti solved this problem. He anchored the axle on both sides with a support rod with a pivot point. This means that unwanted steering movement is no longer possible. The axle is forged from one piece with the support rod holder. The change in the length of the leaf spring is compensated for by a rocker. Left: The design of the 57202 was perfect, but far too expensive. Right: This design with only one support rod on one side did not work and had to be replaced at the factory.

The innovations of Jean Bugatti The left hand side radius rod The right hand side radius rod The split front axle Robert Braunschweig has been enjoying this rare Type 57 Stelvio, designed by Jean Bugatti, for a few years now. It is the prototype with a "quasi" independent suspension with a split hollow front axle. It was only two years later that this design was used in a simplified version on the S-types, and so it is perhaps the only Type 57 with this design. To date, no other Type 57 has been discovered in this version. Also very special is its roof design, which retracts into the trunk. Jean intended to create a car that combines the qualities of a sports car and a grand tourer without making any compromises, and with the Type 57 he succeeded. Its appeal to the wealthy enthusiasts of the time was enormous, and so it was produced from 1934 to 1940, when the Second World War brought production to a halt. Only a little over 600 examples were built during this period, not counting the 57 S and 57 SC sports models. Most of them had one of the five body variants from Gangloff, Bugatti's coachbuilder: the two-seater Aravis convertible, the two-seater Atalante coupe, the Galibier limousine, the four-seater Stelvio convertible and At the Concours d'Elégance in Schwetzingen the four-seater Ventoux coupe. With its luxuriously equipped body, the Type 57 was one of the best cars of the 1930s, and it was given a correspondingly exclusive price. Perhaps the most distinguished Type 57 of all is this Stelvio Cabriolet, chassis no. 57202, which is a prototype unique in many details. The elegant three-stage retractable top was used on a very limited number of early cars. The windows and the arrangement of the two spare wheels are unique, as are the front fenders. All other 57s have a "fuller body" wing that starts halfway up the front wheel. For a long time it was assumed that the body of the "57202" was built by Gangloff. But detailed investigations showed that this was not the case, but that the entire car was built in the Bugatti factories to Jean's own design (= Usine). In particular, the finished car was used to illustrate the first Type 57 sales brochure. It is represented in two different colour schemes, one light/dark as seen today and the other completely dark… Or could it be that two identical bodies were made, one of which has disappeared? An unrivalled drivetrain As the owner of another Type 57, Robert Other 57s, he says, can be prone Braunschweig describes the later cars as more comfortable, but says the "57202" is much more like a sports car. to understeer, while the "57202"'s split axle contributes to much improved roadholding and more sensitive feedback, helping it accelerate in corners and thus coming closer overall to Jean Bugatti's vision of what the Type 57 should have been. Original article Auf Deutsch / in German Much of the info was also published before on BugattiPage.com (Search for 57202 )