An Unknown Bugatti

Johan Buchner · **Posted:** Tue Sep 30, 2008 1:57 pm

I found this photo on the French Bugatti Club's website, herewith a copy and paste of the caption :

Luckily, this is an other Bugatti bodied by Poinsenet, with a more elegant style, and that could be an other type 40. This very nice picture was sent by Mr Dumelié of the Centre Régional de la Photographie de Champagne-Ardenne. He found and saved the archives of Mr Poyet who was a photographer in Epernay. Who knows more about this Bugatti and about this coachworker who seemed to appreciate the Bugattis ? Contact : webmaster@club-bugatti-france.net

I have never seen this car before, does anyone know anything about it?

Thanks
Johan

Herman · **Posted:** Tue Sep 30, 2008 2:22 pm

I cannot help with anything useful, but it looks very "Traction Avant-ish".

Johan Buchner · **Posted:** Tue Sep 30, 2008 2:30 pm

I was thinking the exact same thing! Especially to the rear. Do you think this could have started off as a Traction Avant? Have a look at the French Bugatti Club's website under the heading Historical Research, the other body by this coachbuilder is quite utilitarian. A very interesting link too.

Johan

J.J.Horst · **Posted:** Tue Sep 30, 2008 2:53 pm

It is a very interesting body, maybe not T40 but T44 or T49?

the body may have been inspired by the Traction Avant, but can not be an actual Traction Avant body:

The TA has a (slightly) different shape and of course different doors.

The TA has a monocoque body, with a subframe mounted on four long studs on the front. The subframe holds the engine and front suspension. Of course it's impossible to build a monocoque on a Bugatti chassis.

Herman · **Posted:** Tue Sep 30, 2008 3:26 pm

A monocoque body could have been used. Just remove the floorpan and probably also the firewall, and install on an existing floorpan. Could be doable.

But perhaps just an inspiration, one way or the other.

Herman · **Posted:** Tue Sep 30, 2008 3:27 pm

Bugwrench · **Joined:** Mon Jan 07, 2008 6:16 pm **Posts:** 338

Car has a T38/44 wheelbase.
Bugwrench

sleevevalve · **Joined:** Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:44 pm **Posts:** 23

Gentlemen,

Poinsenet (of Magenta-Epernay) most likely belonged to the multitude of small/obscure French coachbuilders. Interesting to see that the two bodies on Bugatti chassis are so very different – first, the boxy 1927 design on a T40 chassis (as pictured and described on the marvellous Automobiles Voisin site of Thierry Auffret, please see
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/automobiles ... 1_car.html ), and later this semi-streamlined body on what I fully agree to be a 8-cyl chassis. But then again, cubist design was all the rage in the mid-to-late 1920´s: Voisin did very well with these angular body styles. „Streamlining“ followed in the early to mid-1930´s. Poinsenet obviously tried to follow then-current trends, perhaps not as successfully as some of their competitors. Unfortunately, there do not seem to be too many references regarding this coachbuilding firm.

sleevevalve

An Unknown Bugatti

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