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The motorsport legend Bugatti Type 13 Brescia turns 100
The open two-seater Bugatti Type 13 Brescia weighs only 490 kilograms. A water-cooled, almost 1,5 liter four-cylinder with initially 40 hp and later 50 hp serves as the drive. The racing car is fast at up to 150 km/h. A speed that only significantly more powerful and heavier vehicles could achieve 100 years ago. But even these hardly stood a chance against the light and agile Type 13 before the first corner. Their bodies weighed more, the chassis worked less precisely and the tires rarely withstood the ordeal of racing for long.
Lightweight construction and weight optimization were already the be-all and end-all back then
Ettore Bugatti, on the other hand, discovered more than 100 years ago that weight is the real enemy in motorsport and began to focus consistently on lightweight construction. He was already working on optimizing the weight of the first car built under his name, the Type 10.
The Type 1910 was created from 13 and was constantly further developed and optimized over the years. With the Type 13 "Brescia" Bugatti improved the Type 1921 from 13, which had been equipped with a 1914 liter engine since 1,35. Due to the First World War, production came to a halt a short time later, so that Bugatti only developed a slightly revised model after the war in 1919.
[dropcap size=big]13[/dropcap]Now with 1.368 ccm displacement, modern four-valve technology, vertical shaft and 30 hp. This makes the Type 13 one of the first automobiles with four-valve technology. White metal for the crankshaft bearings and pistons are just as new 100 years ago as a petrol pump and a pump that sprays oil on selected components. A lightweight and easy-to-shift four-speed gearbox makes it easier for the driver to change gears.The Type 13 is easy on the gas and easy to navigate through corners thanks to extremely precise steering. Light wire spoke wheels instead of heavy wooden wheels reduce the unsprung masses and increase agility.
Fast and technically superior
"What made Bugatti vehicles stand out 100 years ago is high material quality and quality as well as careful workmanship," says Luigi Galli, Specialist Heritage & Certification at Bugatti.
"The legendary Type 13 was not only the fastest, but also the most agile and reliable vehicle on the Grand Prix racetracks of the past century and caused a sensation when it was first driven in the early 1920s."
Four first places for the Bugatti Type 13
The model celebrated its greatest triumph at the Grand Prix of the Voiturettes in Brescia in September 1921. Four Type 13s achieved the first four places - the grandiose victory became synonymous with the racing car. In the 1920s, the vehicles won almost every competition in which they entered. The light and strong sports cars from Molsheim are superior to the competitors, especially in the tough road and mountain races with their tight curves, poor surface, potholes, sand and flying stones.
Bugatti Type 13 Brescia was built in Molsheim
With the Type 13, Bugatti ushered in a golden decade and flourished as a company. In the next few years, the French manufacturer sells 711 vehicles of this type with the 16-valve racing engine, and an additional 388 vehicles with engines that have a smoothly rotating crankshaft with ball bearings.
Bugatti continued to successfully implement the Type 13 concept with other vehicle lengths, such as the Type 15, Type 17, Type 22 and Type 23. The Type 1926 was produced by 13 Molsheim, Bugatti sold around 2.000 of the model in total.
From 1925, the employees then assembled the Type 35. It continued the successful series and followed the tire tracks of its legendary predecessor. Over the next few years, with over 2.000 victories, it becomes the most successful racing car of all time.