BUGATTI TYPE 59/50S REPLICA

THE LION EL ROGERS REPLICA BUGATTI TYPE 59/50 S IS NOT ONLY EASY ON THE EYE BUT A TRIBUTE TO NEW ZEALAND WORKMANSHIP

BUGATTI’S WORK OF ART, RECREATED BY A KIWI

When New Zealander Lionel Rogers presents his amazing Bugatti Type 59/50S replica at the Vintage Revival Montlhéry in May, there will be a fair measure of nostalgia in the air. Eighty-four years earlier, Robert Benoist drove a works Type 59/50S in the 1935 French Grand Prix (GP) at the same track 30km from Paris. He failed to finish following rear-axle failure but wowed the crowd with the speed of the supercharged open-wheeler built by the legendary French marque.

Benoist was temporarily blinded when the Bugatti’s bonnet hood-strap came adrift, and the French driver actually caught the car’s flying bonnet as it flew up, steering one-handed for the pits. Mechanics were unable to hurriedly reattach the bonnet, so Benoist continued to race with the magnificent 4.9-litre straight-eight-cylinder double-overhead-camshaft engine clearly visible to cheering spectators.

Fast forward to late January 2019 and Lionel Rogers and Robert Mcnair are busy attending to teething problems on the replica Bugatti GP racer when New Zealand Classic Car visits the workshop south of Auckland, with the dark blue machine about to be trailered to the Leadfoot Festival at Hahei on the Coromandel Peninsula. The following week, the precious locally built car will be on the boat to Europe, initially bound for Montlhéry and then the Classics at Prescott event in England in May, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Bugatti Owners Club.

A work of art

So, what’s so special about this Bugatti? Well, just about everything, including that it is the last GP racing model built by the ingenious French company. Indeed, the car is a work of art more so than any painting — as it makes a remarkable noise and can be driven. Ponder Lionel’s private collection of classic cars, and you’ll know that this self-made man is passionate about motoring. His philosophy is that old cars are not simply for admiring but also for driving, as evidenced by his 1931 Ford Model A tourer and his Ferraris and Bugattis.

Yes, that’s Bugatti plural, since the Type 59 is not the only example of the French brand that he owns — the Rogers collection also includes a genuine Type 13,

a genuine Type 44 (based in the US), and a replica Type 55.

Only eight Type 59/50S cars were built by the factory, with four being sold to private customers. The Rogers replica is a remarkable example of New Zealand ingenuity and craftsmanship. Of course, some parts were sourced from England, but components were machined and assembled locally, and the level of Robert Mcnair’s skill is outstanding.

Mcnair is an aircraft engineer and vintage aviator, and his father Wallace restored no fewer than 39 vintage and veteran cars, including the 1906 Darracq now owned by Rob Millen. Mcnair’s son Louis also has the bug, so now represents the third generation of his family to be a motor-vehicle restorer.

Ten-year project

In November 2017, the car had its first outing at the classic Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb in Worcestershire, England — an event dating back to 1905 and one of the oldest motor sport occasions in the world. Shelsley effectively marked the end of the 10-year project creating this sensational Bugatti, and Lionel also ran the Bugatti at the 2018 Leadfoot Festival.

Lionel is a hands-on chap who likes to do as much as he can, including assembly of the impressively long and purposeful-looking Type 59 engine a this Parnell home. Peter Le Gros was also involved in machining engine parts.

Factory drawings were sourced from the Bugatti Trust in England, patents were covered-off, and Mcnair had access to photos that helped when making parts in New Zealand, including the highly distinctive radiator that lacks any decorative grille.

Following appropriate verification of specifications, the trust was able to issue its official replica chassis plate, which is now attached to the car.

Mcnair describes the 3.8m long dark blue machine as his “ultimate, dream racing car”, while its owner reckons the Type 59 was designed for practicality rather than looks. A signature feature is the prominent seamed-and-riveted narrow tail, which is a complex example of precision engineering. So, too, are the superbly crafted pianowire wheels with 150 tiny teeth and radial spokes that only take side loads. The 19-inch-diameter wheels use splines between the brake drum and rim, and rely on the spokes to handle cornering loads. There are 5.50-size tyres at the front and larger 6.00-size rubber at the rear.

First appearance

The Type 59 first appeared in 1933 with a 2.8-litre, supercharged, straight-eightcylinder engine. This was quickly enlarged to 3.3 litres — good enough to power one of the Bugattis to 273kph (170mph) during a race. Type 59 cars finished first, second, and fourth in the 1934 Belgian GP, with the winner driven by Rene Dreyfus. In

The Type 59 was designed for practicality rather than looks. A signature feature is the prominent seamed-and-riveted narrow tail, which is a complex example of precision engineering. So, too, are the superbly crafted piano-wire wheels with 150 tiny teeth and radial spokes that only take side loads

This 4972cc, two-valves-per-cylinder motor with twin downdraught carburettors offers great torque and produces around 352kw, which Rogers describes as plenty

1935, Benoist debuted the 4.9-litre successor in the Type 59/50S, which developed 300bhp (406kw) at a modest 4000rpm. The camshafts were driven by a train of gears from the rear of the crankshaft and the supercharger was a Bugattimade component.

Factory blocks for the dry-sump motor were alloy, while the New Zealand replica has a cast-iron block. This 4972cc, twovalves-per-cylinder motor with twin downdraught carburettors offers great torque and produces around 352kw, which Rogers describes as plenty. Full-house racing equivalents running on methanol fuel have been known to produce an astonishing 659kw — imagine that in the Type 59, weighing 850kg all up!

Based on the Type 54 chassis, the Type 59 has an aluminium body over a steel frame. Chassis side members have holes for lightening and the four-speed gearbox is located midway between the engine and rear differential.

One can’t always expect old classics to behave themselves, and the Type 59 is no exception. Ettore Bugatti always had an answer for anyone castigating his cars. When they would not start — as the replica was inclined to do when we visited, in spite of the summery New Zealand weather — Ettore suggested that anyone wealthy enough to own one should also have a heated garage; when they would not stop, he urged their owners to remember that they were made to go.

Art and tragedy

There has always been something magical about the Bugatti marque. Ettore’s father, Carlo Bugatti, was a notable Italian artist, who maintained bases in Paris and northern Italy, but the young Bugatti announced, at the age of 16, that he preferred to give up art. When the first Bugatti Type 1

appeared in 1898, the young enthusiast was only 17 years old. In spite of the design brilliance, in the 1930s, Bugattis struggled to overcome the competition dominance of Mercedes, Auto Union, and Alfa. This was largely because the rivals were financially supported by the respective German and Italian governments, while Bugatti received no such support.

In 1939, Ettore lost inspiration when his son Jean, aged 30, was killed while testing a Type 57 tank-bodied race car near the Molsheim factory in the Alsace region of France. Jean had assumed considerable responsibility in the company after his father became involved with railcar projects in Paris. Bugatti’s subsequent years would almost certainly have been stronger had Jean lived on.

Production of the 6.4m long, 12.7-litre Bugatti Type 41 Royale luxury car proved uneconomic, and, of the seven built, only three were sold between 1927 and 1933, with the maker hit by the Depression. However, the youthful Jean had secured a fruitful French Government rail contract that allowed the racing programme to continue, culminating in various mutations of the Type 59. King Leopold III of Belgium was so impressed that he had the factory convert a Type 59 into a sports car for road use.

Most elegant pre-war racing car

Many consider the Type 59 to be the most elegant of all pre-war racing cars, with classic lines and its horseshoe radiator. It has leaf springs, with rear-reversed quarter-elliptics, cable-operated brakes, and a

Although the Type 59 was never as successful as the earlier and more famous Type 35 (which won 351 races over 1924 and 1925), this later machine is perhaps the most sublime of all pre-war GP cars

double-reduction-type rear-axle that can sometimes be troublesome. The unusual, complex, and expensive shock absorbers have friction damping proportional to the speed of movement of the lever.

An eight-branch exhaust manifold feeds into a single larger-bore tailpipe that emits a deep booming note. There are some concerns about the outside exhaust piping and a protective covering may be fitted before the car is New Zealand road legal.

Originally, the Type 59 was designed with an offset single-seat cockpit, but the Rogers car accommodates two occupants in a somewhat confined space. For competition, the mudguards can be removed, but they are mandatory for public-road use. While factory Type 59 Bugattis were not fitted with a starter motor, this is clearly a must for a car that will be used on the road, and adapting an appropriate starter can have its problems.

Although the Type 59 was never as successful as the earlier and more famous Type 35 (which won 351 races over 1924 and 1925), this later machine is perhaps the most sublime of all pre-war GP cars. Gaze upon the slender elegance of the Rogers Bugatti and admire how the body sits relative to the wheels, with the black recessed radiator located in line with the front-wheel hubs, while the body flows rearwards to a tapering tail.

Applaud, too, the finish and the professionalism that has gone into building this replica version of a true classic racing car. Call what you will — recreating or preserving history — but it is no bad thing, especially when something is as good as this.