Miguel Sánchez
PHOTOS BUGATTI TYPE 56: RONAN GLON / AUTOBLOG.COM
With about 1500CV the power figures of the Bugatti Chiron they are overwhelming; you can lose perspective on whether we are talking about a car or airplane engine. Quite a boast that, apart from discussions about the real need for such horsepower to enjoy a sporting experience, marks an inordinate distance from one of its more distant brand relatives.
Why… How do you stay if we now tell you that there is a whole shiny Bugatti equipped with an electric motor of less than one horsepower? And no, we are not talking about the Veyron radio control that they sell in the neighborhood toy store, but the 56 1931 Type. A small electric car designed for the personal use of Ettore Bugatti but that, even with everything, preserves the idiosyncrasy of the brand.
First of all because, despite the sparse and simple frame it represents, and the concept that corresponds more to that of a late 56th century car, the Type XNUMX still has a very own I don't know what a what I know of the elegant Bugatti of that time.
WORKING WITH MR. BUGATTI
Molsheim is a peaceful town in the Alsace region, where almost everything would make you think you are in Germany if it weren't for the fact that the French flag flies in the town hall. A place that, after times of border tensions, finally keeps pikes and drums to be the pasture of tranquility. Maybe because of it Ettore Bugatti considered that this was the ideal place to buy a castle-palace and build his emporium of metal, rubber and fuel..
And the fact is that the property is so large that, in order to constantly visit it in order to inspect the work of its operators, Ettore Bugatti needed a personal transport. How to do it in the 6'7 meters of a Royale it seems something complicated When it came to moving around a viricueta farm, he decided to motorize what looks like a small buggy. Thus, 1931 saw the birth of the smallest Bugatti just in the years when the largest was produced.
However, the Type 56's fate was far from commercial; in fact, Ettore Bugatti himself did not really consider mass production, remaining as a device for personal use. So ... how come several units were assembled? Well, very simple: for the pure personal whim of some visitors to your factory. All of them important aristocrats or wealthy people who, ordering a Type 46 for example at the brand's facilities, were captivated by the curious electrical ingenuity.
In fact, the King of Belgium Leopold III himself commissioned one for his wife while there are rumors that Queen Elizabeth II of England had another for a time. Characters of rancid ancestry apart, the truth is that between 1931 and 1936 6 to 10 Type 56 were assembled depending on whether you consult one source or another, surviving today four along with the possibility of a fifth that would be lost in Canada.
BUGATTI TYPE 56: AN ELECTRIC AMONG GASOLINE GIANTS
The truth is that the consumer economy is something that does not go with Bugatti, and we are not referring to their current models. The thing comes from afar. The contrast with its context further highlights this little ingenuity with an electric heart inspired by the starter motor of some of the brand's models, of which it is said that yields 1CV of power -if it is rounded up what is actually 0- thanks to the 8 amps produced from its 28 original batteries with 6 volts each.
However it is enough, enough to propel a very light vehicle capable of reaching 28 km / h with its motor mounting directly on the frame, which sends the force to the rear axle where the drum brakes are installed. A set led by a simple reed steering that you direct sitting on its meticulous upholstery while linking one aisle with another thanks to the small dimensions of the vehicle, which It has an autonomy of 40 minutes after two hours of charging.
The Department of "tradition”Of Bugatti operates from the same Alsatian castle where the founder of the brand created his little kingdom, being there where the Type 56 has been restored without too much intervention on the original elements. Although ... Of course, for safety reasons, the batteries and the ignition have been replaced by less flammable current parts.
In short, an unexpected car within a brand full of overwhelming technology ... Totally faithful to the essence of the founder. After all, Ettore Bugatti made, apart from racing cars, unique and eccentric cars designed almost to measure. Just what this Type 56 is.
