Bugatti Type 57 Grand Prix

This work examines the Type 57 Grand Prix cars, the creation of Jean Bugatti, Ettore’s eldest son. The late Hugh G Conway wrote in Bugatti – Le pur sang des automobiles, that, after 1935, “Bugatti’s racing programme became involved and very confusing to the humble historian, without accurate factory records.”

    The T57G’s story is complex and has taken more than forty years to draw together, study and evaluate. Revealing new material, Tomlinson takes the view that existing records can be reinterpreted with a revised mindset, challenging conformist beliefs and dismissing many conventions. The book describes the 57G’s racing career and evolution through its siblings, the Types 57, 57S and 59. Type 57G characteristics are identified, with race-to-race body and chassis details described. The Type 57G, 57S45, 57 ‘Sport’ and 57C Le Mans cars are also defined, and their enigmatic history revised. 

    This book celebrates the Bugatti T57 Grand Prix racing cars: their origins, triumphs, failings, trivia, trinkets, and a little about the personalities behind them, all interwoven with the social and political influences of those times.