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Recently, I covered a video of the Bugatti Vision GT Concept rolling around under its own power at the end of the Frankfurt Auto Show. In the article, I stated that the engine Bugatti’s engineers fit the concept with sounded like dystopian hellfire, and that it could be the best sounding Bugatti engine ever built. Well, that statement started a bit of a row at the BoldRide office.
After much discussion among the staff, it appeared as though I needed to revisit some historic Bugattis. So, after digging through our extensive collection of vintage Bugatti galleries, I was able to determine the five best sounding cars from the company’s storied history.
The Bugatti Type 57G was entirely designed by Jean Bugatti, Ettore Bugatti’s son, and used a twin-cam inline-8 cylinder engine that produced 135 horsepower. It was manufactured by Bugatti from 1934-1940 and that 135 horsepower allowed the Type 57G to hit a top speed of 95 miles per hour.
Later on, the Type 57G would also get a roots-type supercharger that bumped up the power to 160 horsepower and made the car sound fantastic. However, it definitely didn’t have the presence of the next car.
EB110 SS
While almost everyone knows about the McLaren F1, there wasn’t as much fanfare for its contemporary, the Bugatti EB110 SS. The car was built during the same time period as the F1, but featured a 3.5-liter quad-turbo V12 engine, coupled to a 6-speed manual transmission.
The car made 650 horsepower and was capable of hitting 216 miles per hour. Two words describe the noise of this car, turbo whooshes. It’s not the loudest car here, but when you lift off the throttle, all you hear are the blow off valves singing like mating squirrels.
Type 59B
The Bugatti Type 59B is a sort of Franken-Bugatti if we’re being honest. Built for only one year, the Type 59B was the last of the 1930’s Bugatti racecars. The engine came out of the aforementioned Type 57, and sat on a modified Type 54 chassis. However, the engine bay was lowered to give the racecar a better center of gravity, and was modified to produce over 250 horsepower. Only eight of these beauties were ever built, and honestly, given that engine noise, I may be eating my words.
Type 35B
Where do you start with the Bugatti Type 35? It was the company’s most successful racing car, and one that has left an indelible mark on the company’s history and nameplate. The car won over a thousand races during its production run, and set 47 racing records.
It was originally introduced at the Grand Prix of Lyon in 1924, and used an overhead cam straight-eight engine, which came off the previous Type 29. The engine in this car sounds like a mix between an old school muscle car, and a 1950’s Le Mans racer. It sounds awesome…but.
Vision GT
Nope, it’s still the best, I don’t care what they say.
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