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Automotive Lifestyle
VINTAGE: Classic Bugatti Rendered At Last
The new handcrafted body for the car that Jean Bugatti was building when he died in 1939 will be unveiled at the Quail event in Carmel, Calif.
Metal craftsmen are using old-world techniques to build an accurate rendition of the body designed by Jean Bugatti. (Photo: Mullin Automotive Museum)
A classic Bugatti design that was stillborn in the 1930s has been brought to life by the Mullin Automotive Museum, which will unveil the new body for Jean Bugatti's 1939 Bugatti Type 64 Coupe at The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering on Aug. 17 in Carmel, Calif.
Automotive designer Jean Bugatti was the man behind the styling of such classic Bugatti automobiles as the Type 41 Royale and the Type 57. Along with his artistic gift, Bugatti was an engineer who helped develop designs for twin-cam engines and independent suspensions for the French automaker.
The eldest son of company founder Ettore Bugatti, Jean Bugatti died in 1939 at age 30 in the crash of a Type 57 racer. While there’s no telling what might have been had his life not been cut short, one dream that never saw fulfillment was the aerodynamic 1939 Bugatti Type 64 Coupe, based on chassis number 64002.
Bugatti had created sketches for his vision prior to his untimely death, but the car never progressed beyond the final chassis. Now, the Mullin Automotive Museum, in conjunction with Stewart Reed Design and Automobile Metal Shaping Company, has crafted a body for chassis 64002 that employs numerous original styling cues.
True to Bugatti form, the aerodynamic coupe will feature a riveted body structure, a prominent styling ridge down the centerline of the car, and papillon doors, which means “butterfly” in French, a feature Jean Bugatti designed in 1939 and similar to what later became known as gull-wing doors.
The body panels were crafted by hand using techniques that metal artisans would have employed in 1939.
Of the museum’s efforts on chassis 64002, Chairman Peter Mullin said, “We’ve dedicated much of our efforts at the Museum to honor the Bugatti family and the marque, but never have we done something of this scale. I cannot imagine a greater token of respect to the Bugatti family than to help finish Jean Bugatti’s beloved final masterpiece.”
While not fully completed, the car will still be displayed at The Quail, A Motorsport Gathering, and can later be seen at the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California.
This story originally appeared at Motor Authority.
Automotive designer Jean Bugatti was the man behind the styling of such classic Bugatti automobiles as the Type 41 Royale and the Type 57. Along with his artistic gift, Bugatti was an engineer who helped develop designs for twin-cam engines and independent suspensions for the French automaker.
The eldest son of company founder Ettore Bugatti, Jean Bugatti died in 1939 at age 30 in the crash of a Type 57 racer. While there’s no telling what might have been had his life not been cut short, one dream that never saw fulfillment was the aerodynamic 1939 Bugatti Type 64 Coupe, based on chassis number 64002.
Bugatti had created sketches for his vision prior to his untimely death, but the car never progressed beyond the final chassis. Now, the Mullin Automotive Museum, in conjunction with Stewart Reed Design and Automobile Metal Shaping Company, has crafted a body for chassis 64002 that employs numerous original styling cues.
True to Bugatti form, the aerodynamic coupe will feature a riveted body structure, a prominent styling ridge down the centerline of the car, and papillon doors, which means “butterfly” in French, a feature Jean Bugatti designed in 1939 and similar to what later became known as gull-wing doors.
The body panels were crafted by hand using techniques that metal artisans would have employed in 1939.
Of the museum’s efforts on chassis 64002, Chairman Peter Mullin said, “We’ve dedicated much of our efforts at the Museum to honor the Bugatti family and the marque, but never have we done something of this scale. I cannot imagine a greater token of respect to the Bugatti family than to help finish Jean Bugatti’s beloved final masterpiece.”
While not fully completed, the car will still be displayed at The Quail, A Motorsport Gathering, and can later be seen at the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California.
This story originally appeared at Motor Authority.
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