I would like to be informed about the Bugatti Type 59/50 B. Some say that only 3 cars and 1 two-seater sports Type 59/50B were built. And the second single seater chassis Type 59/50B received successive all three types of engine.

The first Type 59/50 B would probably be the car with which Robert Benoist has disputed the Grand Prix de l'A.C.F, Montlhéry in 1935. The car dropped off after the bonnet was nearly beheaded the french driver.

The second Type 59/50B, was aligned to trials of Grand Prix de Monaco 1936 and the Grand Prix of Switzerland in 1936 with the same type of engine, the 4.7 l supercharged. Then she took second place in the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup, always with the 4.7 l supercharged. After we find it this time equipped with 4.5 l unsupercharged at the Grand Prix of Turin and the Race of "Million" in 1937, where it fails behind Delahaye of René Dreyfus. Finally, this chassis would have received the third version of Type 50 B engine, a 3 l supercharged to run at Reims and in Cork in 1938.

The third car built under the name Type 59/50 B, it's the single seater châssis #50180, built in early 1939 with the 4.7 l supercharged.

Finally, the fourth, it would be the famous two-seater Sport equipped with the 4.7 supercharged and who finished second in the Grand Prix du Comminges in 1939 after a fantastic fight between Jean-Pierre Wimille, its driver, Raymond Sommer and Rene Le Bègue, Both on Talbot.

According to Uwe Hucke there were a total of 16 Type 50B engines built ordered following 3 types:

- Type 50 B1: 4.7 l supercharged (10 copies)

- Type 50 B2: 4.5 l unsupercharged (4 copies)

- Type 50 B3: 3.0 l supercharged (2 copies)

Making a total of 6 motors used in 16 built, where would the past ten Type 50B engines? Any help is welcome, I urge Jaap Horst, Kees Jansen and any others who knows well the subject, to see more clearly.

_________________
Make your dream devour your life, so that life doesn't devour your dream.
[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]

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For the T50B motor for the airplane, it is possible that 4 were made; parts were made for two airplanes. 3 engines are known today, 2 that came from the airplane, 1 is in the Schlumpf museum.

Apart from airplanes, engines were also used for speedboats, like the various versions of the Niniette. most probably the NIniette 6, with Bugatti designed hull, would receive the most powerfull Bugatti engine of the time, thus a T50B1. Other T50B1 engines may have been built in some of the other Niniettes, or sold to other speedboat builders.

So, counting 3-4 T50B engines for the airplane, and 1-3 for boats; we have a minimum of 4, and a possible maximum of 7.

With 3 cars having a T50B1 engine, this sums up to a possible total of 10!

List of the verious versions of the T50B engine
50B1 A significantly redesigned version of the type 50 motor :
4739cc, 84x107mm supercharged.
50B2 As above but only 4433cc, 84x100mm.
50B3 As above but only 2982cc, 78x78mm.
50B470D Designation for handed 50B aircraft engine - D =
droit (right hand).
50B470G As above. G = gauche (left hand).


Note that the same type 50B engines are referred to in different
ways by different sources, e.g. The Bugatti Trust refers to
50B2 whereas Conway refers to 50 BII. However, the latter
use of Roman numerals would not be normal Molsheim practice.

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Thanks a lot Jaap for these details

For the Grand Prix de l'A.C.F 1935 at Montlhéry is a Type 59/50 and not not a Type 59/50 B because the car of Robert Benoist uses a 4.9 l (86 x 107 mm - 4972cc) engine. It's the engine taken from the wreckage Bugatti Type 54 of the Count Stanislas Czaykowski after his fatal accident at Monza Grand Prix in 1933.

_________________
Make your dream devour your life, so that life doesn't devour your dream.
[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]

The known car as the number #441352 in fact based on the chassis No. 6 of Type 59 which dates from 1933. This car #6 first raced with a 3.3 litre engine by the factory in 1935. After we find this single seater with a Type 50 engine of the Bugatti Type 54 of Count Stanislas Czaykowski in the Grand Prix de l'A.C.F 1935 at Montlhéry, where Robert Benoist experienced the hood blowing off, he almost lost his head, continued racing though, without much success though.

Then, we found the same car, modified and this time equipped with the Type 50B1 4.7 l supercharged engine to trials of Grand Prix de Monaco, Grand Prix of Switzerland and Vanderbild Cup 1936 at the hands of Jean-Pierre Wimille.

In 1937 we find the same car, again modified at the Turin Grand Prix and the Grand Prix du Million at Montlhéry with Jean-Pierre Wimille and Robert Benoist, this time with the Type 50 B2 4.5 L unsupercharged engine.

Finally, the car was fitted with a 3 litre Type 50B3 supercharged engine for the race at Cork, Ireland in 1938 and for its final race at Reims-Gueux a few months later. In 1938 its chassis number #441352 is actually, his engine number.

Any suggestions, or confirmation of this, are welcome...

_________________
Make your dream devour your life, so that life doesn't devour your dream.
[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]

441352 was first registered by Automobiles Ettore Bugatti as 4619-NV2 on 14th September 1933 at Préfecture du Bas-Rhin with two other T44 :

The same day 441350 with 4617-NV2 et 441351 with 4618-NV2 were also registered by Automobiles Ettore Bugatti:

On the photographs of the single-seater 50, 50B, 50B2 and 50B3, do not appear the registrations 4617-NV2, 4618-NV2 and 4619-NV2. It is not sure that it is same chassis 441352 in these various modifications: 50, 50B, 50B2 and 50B3

I have registration information that may be of interrest along with those works cars. On 14th september 1933 three chassis numbers were registered by Automobiles Ettore Bugatti at the prefecture du Bas-Rhin,
4617-NV2 is chassis 441350
4618-NV2 is chassis 441351
4619-NV2 is chassis 441352
That later number 4619-NV2 applyes also for the type 59-50 that is reported to have received the 50B then 50BII and later 50BIII engine.
It would be interresting to find out wether this was a batch of three race cars or a mixture of real type 44's and one race car. In 1933 the production of 44's was already replaced by the type 49 since a while.

Christian

My father owns 57478. While it is a Type 57, he does have a Type 59/50B "replica" body, which he fashioned after the T59/50B at the Schlumpf Museum. So, although not an original T59/50B, it is nice to see one at the rallies and vintage races, as there were so few originals produced. I raced this car at the 8th Bugatti Grand Prix in 2007 at Watkins Glen. My brother will race it at the 2010 Monterey Historic this August. You can see pictures on the Bugatti Register under "57478".

Here are some photos of a recreation of the 1937 ACF car Type 59/50B. I purchased the project from Ray Jones who had been working on it for nearly 10 years. It will be completed over the next two.
Quite beautiful and it should be a treat to see in person, as I believe that no one likely still alive has seen the car since 1937-8

magic pure magic.

Once again, superb recreation of Ray Jones, is the fine work. Thanks for these photos.

_________________
Make your dream devour your life, so that life doesn't devour your dream.
[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]

Several galleries of pictures of Ray Jones Bugatti :

http://picasaweb.google.fr/BugJones

_________________
Make your dream devour your life, so that life doesn't devour your dream.
[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry]

wow, that looks stunning

I love this Tank. There is it a video?. As is the sound of this car?. Which chassis is used or manufactured?.
I have so many to ask ...

Here are pictures of the T59/50B in Schlumpf that were the basis of design for the replica T59/50B body on 57478:



Here is 57478 with replica T59/50B body: