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VINTAGE: Ettore Bugatti’s Scaled-Down Royale
Type 46 was designed as a smaller luxury car that would attract more sales than gigantic Royale.
Wouter Melissen  | http://www.ultimatecarpage.com  |  Posted February 02, 2010   Amelia Island, FL.
With a body by Reinboldt & Christie and believed to be the only open Type 46S remaining in the world, chassis 46525 is shown during the 2009 Amelia Island Concours. (Photo: Wouter Mellisen)
When Ettore Bugatti launched the Type 41 Royale in early 1929, he fulfilled his long-held dream of building the ultimate luxury car. The Royale's engine, which displaced well over 12 liters, was more than four times the size of the next biggest engine in the Bugatti range.

To fill that sizeable void, a second luxury Bugatti was introduced shortly after. Dubbed the Type 46, it was in many ways a scaled-down version of the massive and ultimately unmarketable Royale.

Like the Royale, the Type 46 used the latest version of the familiar straight-eight Bugatti engine that was used so successfully in the Type 35 racing cars. It featured a single overhead camshaft that actuated three valves per cylinder (two inlet and one exhaust).

The beautifully finished eight-cylinder engine, one of just 20 fitted with a supercharger, produces 160 horsepower. (Photo: Wouter Melissen)
By casting the head and block in one piece, the straight-eight engine had a very clean look. For the Type 41 and 46 engines, the casting was extended down to the bearing supports. This made the engine very rigid and resulted in exceptionally smooth running. The Type 46 eight displaced just over 5.3 liters and produced a relatively modest 140 horsepower. Thanks to a long stroke, it did generate more than enough torque at very low engine speeds.

The Type 46 chassis was also typical Bugatti. The steel-ladder frame was suspended by rigid axles on both ends with semi-elliptic leaf springs at the front and reversed quarter-elliptic leaf springs at the rear. Bugatti remained loyal to the cable-operated drum brakes even though most rivals had switched to hydraulic systems. The front brakes featured an ingenious system to prevent self-servo action caused by axle twist.

As on the Type 41, the three-speed gearbox was mounted in unit with the differential. The exact reason for this unconventional and, combined with a live axle, illogical location is not known. Perhaps Ettore Bugatti simply wanted to be different.

Towards the end of 1929, the first Type 46 was shown at the important Paris and London shows. With its 5.3-liter engine and 3.5-meter wheelbase, it was by no means a small car. It was nevertheless smaller than and not nearly as expensive as the Royale. The Type 46 was well-received by the motoring journalists and whereas the Royale proved impossible to market, orders for the new, luxurious Bugatti quickly piled up.

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Wouter Melissen

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