Thursday, September 15, 2011

Bugatti Royale

The Bugatti Type 41, better known as the Royale, was a large luxury car with a 4.3 m (169.3 in) wheelbase and 6.4 m (21 ft) overall length. It weighed approximately 3175 kg (7000 lb) and used a 12.7 L (12763 cc/778 in³) straight-8 engine.

For comparison, the Royale is about as heavy as a large modern commercial pickup truck, such as a Ford Super Duty F-450, but it is about 10% longer. When compared to the modern Rolls-Royce Phantom, it is about 20% longer, and more than 25% heavier.

Ettore Bugatti planned to build twenty-five of these cars, and sell them to royalty. But even European royalty was not buying such things during the Great Depression, and Bugatti was able to sell only three of the six made. Today a Bugatti Royale is both one of the largest and rarest cars in the world.


Bugatti Type 41 Royale Coupe

Crafted by Ettore Bugatti, the Type 41 is said to have come about because he took exception to the comments of an English lady who compared his cars unfavourably with those of Rolls-Royce.

The prototype had a near 15-litre capacity engine. The production version, its stroke reduced from 150 mm (5.9 in) to 130 mm (5.1 in) had a displacement of 12.7 litres. The engine was built around a single huge block, and at (apx. 4.5 ft (1.4 m) long x 3.5 ft (1.1 m) high), is one of the largest automobile engines ever made, producing 205 to 223 kW (275 to 300 hp). Its eight cylinders, bored to 125 mm (4.9 in) and with a stroke length of 130 mm (5.1 in), each displaced more than the entire engine of the contemporary Type 40 touring car. It had 3 valves per cylinder (two inlet:one exhaust) driven by a centrally positioned single overhead camshaft. Nine bearings were specified for reliability, but only a single custom carburettor was needed. The engine was based on an aero-engine design that had been designed for the French Air Ministry, but never produced in that configuration.

The chassis was understandably substantial, with a conventional semi-elliptic leaf spring suspension arrangement at the front. At the rear the forward-facing Bugatti quarter-elliptics were supplemented by a second set facing to the rear. Massive brake shoes were mechanically operated via cable controls: the brakes were effective but without servo-assistance required significant muscle power from the driver. The car's cast "Roue Royale" wheels measured 610 mm (24 inches) in diameter.

Reflecting some tradition based fashions of the time, the driver was confronted by a series of knobs of whalebone, while the steering wheel was covered with walnut.

All Royales were individually bodied. The radiator cap was a posed elephant, a sculpture by Ettore's brother Rembrandt Bugatti.

Bugatti Royale

41.110 - Coupe Napoleon

  • The first car is chassis number 41.110
  • Known as the Coupe Napoleon
  • This car was fitted with the larger 14.7 litre prototype engine
  • The Coupe Napoleon was used by Ettore Bugatti, and in his later life became his personal car. It remained in the family's possession, housed at their Ermenonville chateau until financial difficulties enforced its sale in 1963. It subsequently passed into the hands of Bugatti obsessive Fritz Schlumpf.
  • It originally had a Packard body. It was rebodied by Paris coach builder Weymann as a two door fixed head coupe. The Weymann body was replaced after the car was crashed by Ettore Bugatti who in 1930 or 1931 fell asleep at the wheel travelling home from Paris to Alsace necessitating a major rebuild.
  • At various stages it was also fitted with other bodies.
  • Bricked up with 41.141 and 41.150 during World War II at the home of the Bugatti family in Ermenonville, to avoid being commandeered by the Nazis.
  • Sold by L'Ebe Bugatti in the early 1960s to the brothers Schlumpf
  • Resides in the Musée National de l'Automobile de Mulhouse, alongside 41.131 that the Schlumpf brothers had acquired from John Shakespeare.

Bugatti Royale Engine

41.111 - Coupe de Ville Binder

  • The second car built, but the first to find a customer, is chassis no.41.111
  • Known as the Coupe de Ville Binder
  • Sold in April 1932 to French clothing manufacturer Armand Esders. Ettore's eldest son, Jean, fashioned for the car a dramatic two-seater open body with flamboyant, full-bodied wings and a dickey seat, but no headlamps. In this form it became known as the Royale Esders Roadster.
  • Purchased by the French politician Paternotre, the car was rebodied in the Coupe de Ville style by the coach builder Henri Binder. From this point onwards, known as the Coupe de Ville Binder
  • Never delivered to the King of Romania due to World War 2, it was hidden from the Nazis by storing it in the sewers of Paris
  • Briefly found its way to the United Kingdom after World War 2, and was then acquired by Dudley C Wilson of Florida in 1954. On his death in 1961 it passed to banker Mills B Lane of Atlanta before in 1964 taking up residence in The Harrah Collection at Reno, Nevada.
  • Sold in 1986 to Californian collector, home builder, and Air Force Reserve Major General William Lyon, he offered the car during the 1996 Barrett-Jackson Auction by Private treaty sale, where he refused an offer of $11 million; the reserve was set at $15 million.
  • In 1999, the new owner of the Bugatti brand, Volkswagen AG, bought the car for a reported $20 million. Now used as a brand promotion vehicle, it travels to various museums and locations

1930 Bugatti Royale

41.121 - Cabriolet Weinberger

  • The third car is chassis no.41.121
  • Known as the Cabriolet Weinberger
  • Sold in 1932 to German obstetrician Josef Fuchs, who specified coach builder Ludwig Weinberger of Munich to build him an open cabriolet. Painted black with yellow, the car was delivered to Dr Fuchs in May, 1932.
  • As political tensions rose in pre-war Germany, Fuchs, relocated to Italy, then Japan; before permanently relocating to New York around 1937, bringing the Royale with him.
  • Admired in Dr Fuchs ownership by Charles Chayne, later CEO of General Motors. Chayne later found the car in a scrap yard in New York, buying it in 1946 for $400.
  • Chayne modified the car to make it more road usable, with the completed car featuring from 1947 onwards: a brand-new intake manifold with four carburetors, instead of the original single carb setup; a new paint scheme of oyster white with a dark green trim and convertible roof
  • In 1957, after running the car for ten years, Chayne donated the car to the Henry Ford Museum, located in Dearborn, Michigan, where it still resides. The associated placard, in its entirety, reads: "1931 Bugatti Royale Type 41 Cabriolet, Ettore Bugatti, Molsheim, France, Body by Weinberger, OHC, in-line 8 cylinder, 300 horsepower, 779 cu.in. displacement, 7,035 lb (3,191 kg). Original price: $43,000, Gift of Charles and Esther Chayne."

2010 Bugatti Royale

Once revived in the 1990s as a powerful built Italian sports car, the legendary Bugatti brand has returned to his homeland in Molsheim, France as the capstone of the brand Volkswagen Group, the largest carmaker in Europe. VW bought the rights to the Bugatti name and trademark at the behest of its autocratic chairman Ferdinand Pitch, who wanted to produce the most impressive supercar ever. Using his considerable influence corporate and years of experience as a working engineer, Piech mediated double, mid-engine Veyron 16.4, 1000 horsepower all-wheel-drive rocket lands available in coupe and the recently added Grand Sport Roadster version, each marked in more than a million dollars. But the Veyron is planned to end production in 2012, after 10 years and about 450 units total, observers were surprised at how Bugatti will follow the ultimate sports car in the world.

Now we have the answer, or at least a strong hint. The next Bugatti, is likely to be the ultimate sedan in the world, in fact, 4-door Veyron with similar in-the-top power, technology, luxury, and the price - about $ 1.6 million, say several sources.

That fueling this speculation 16C Galibier concept presented in autumn 2009 as part of the centennial of Bugatti. Although the Galibier reportedly one of several ideas being considered for the second of the 21st century "Bug", many analysts saw the beautifully finished and fully the concept, as late-stage prototype, which could begin production in 2013 with relatively minor modifications.

Officially, Bugatti Galibier said only a trial balloon meant to gauge customer interest. As the chairman of Bugatti Franz-Josef Paefgen told British magazine CAR, the notion of "the road is legal and will travel the world, so we can see what our customers think about it. In the spring of 2010 we will present our findings. Bugatti is desperately trying to make a reality Galibier we just need to find others willing to support us, "he was referring there to the top of VW Group, but winning their approval can not be that hard .. Given the precedent Veyron, it's hard to imagine a human head Piech does not support super sedan follow-up. And when Piech wants something, he almost always gets it.

2010 Bugatti Royale

Meanwhile, Bugatti keeps mum on many details of the concept, no doubt because they are still being discussed at the proposed production model. The name is also not yet resolved, although some sources are betting on the Atlantic or Royale with thoughts of the famous, as the name of the 1930 Bugatti so evidently refers to the concept. We believe, Royale, eventually get the nod, so we use it here, but the final choice may be something entirely different.

Assuming, Galibier is an accurate forecast, the 2014 Bugatti Royale will be XXL four-passenger 4-door sedan with about the same footprint as the 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost. Wheelbase is one of the key differences: a massive 144 inches, 14 inches more than ghosts. Despite this, Royale also have to be good 1500 pounds lighter, thanks to lightweight construction, which we will detail shortly.

2014 Bugatti Royale Design

2014 Bugatti Royale Interior

For all this, the 2014 Bugatti Royale will be next to the rectus Veyron, but not much. Bugatti hints at 800 horsepower and 900 CAR offers horses, as well as 900 lb-ft of torque (in contrast to the Veyron, AO 922). This is a stunning capacity for AO luxury sedan - perhaps the most ever. And while the numbers of road-test a few years, he, Inc. It should be noted that the frequency of CAR Veyron Grand Sport at 2.7 seconds in the test 0-60 miles / h sprint. Given Royale may eventually several hundred pounds lighter - about two tons, even, according to chief technical Bugatti Wolfgang Schreiber - a four passenger sedan shouldn, AOT far off double, JSC blistering pace.

The key issue of 2014 Bugatti Royale, if VW can make money with it. Bugatti sales chief Alasdair Stewart told British magazine Autocar SA, the annual production can reach 300 units, far more than the Veyron out. But even this may not be enough to justify the high cost of developing a specific platform, even a million dollars pricing. This, AO, why some sources are predicting will reconfigure the whole Galibier, Royale can share the basic structural elements with the VW Group, AOS and other large sedans, namely the 2011 Bentley Mulsanne, and the new generation Audi A8. And even then, someone AO, AO guess Royale will follow the concept, AO expensive lightweight, with aluminum doors and front fenders, carbon fiber panels of the upper body structure, and stainless steel and carbon fiber chassis for the mixture. However, engineers will no doubt be working overtime to keep the Galibier, AO 50/50 front / rear weight distribution is always difficult in such a big, heavy car, but it certainly is the need to provide a colorful kind of treatment is associated with the name Bugatti and tradition.

Other specifications are equally unclear at this early stage, but the 2014 Bugatti Royale is required to have an all-independent suspension, possibly with a driver-adjustable air springs, some new devices to minimize cornering lean, and / or passive rear steering wheel. As in the Galibier, the brakes will almost certainly be a big carbon-ceramic discs with ABS and an integrated system of anti-skid with traction control.

This, SA also safe to say that the 2014 Bugatti Royale will be supplied with most every feature of safety and comfort being can imagine. At the very least, expect the curtain side airbags, front side and rear side airbags, LED outdoor lighting, front and rear obstacle detection, rearview camera, power fold mirrors, power-closing doors and a hatchback, a large sunroof with auto-dimming LED or solar cells to run accessories, and perhaps, Volvo-like automatic braking system.

This, AO stories so far, but stay tuned with us for further news. At the same time, we think billionaires around the world are looking forward to 2014 Bugatti Royale, a new trophy to trumpet their success in the world. It will be interesting to see whether there is enough of such people would be on the market, Mr. Piech and companies to make profits.

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