The Bugatti Type 35, one of the world’s most successful and best-known pre-war racing cars, will be marking a century since its birth at this year’s Salon Privé Concours presented by Aviva Private Clients.

It will be the 19th year that Blenheim Palace has hosted the prestigious event  (August 28-29, 2024).

The Type 35 will be the centrepiece of Salon Privé’s Bugatti – From Grand Prix to Grand Touring class.

The automotive legend will be represented by one of the marque’s pinnacle models – a blown Type 35 B – in this case, the sixth ‘B’ produced, and a highly original matching-numbers car.

Another highlight of the class, and a perfect counterpoint to the Type 35 B racer, will be an award-winning example of Bugatti’s most successful model – the Type 57.

“Salon Privé is delighted to showcase the Bugatti Type 35, one of the most renowned pre-war race cars, in its centenary year, said Andrew Bagley, Concours Chairman, Salon Privé.

“With legendary drivers like Nuvolari and Chiron at the wheel, the Type 35 was a force to be reckoned with, and today original, matching numbers cars like this are rare and hugely desirable.

“The Type 57 Saoutchik joining it is the perfect foil for the ’35, with its graceful lines and sense of opulence. They’ll both be representing a class that’s already shaping up to be a Mecca for Bugatti afficionados.”

Bugatti Type 35 success

Few, if any, ‘off-the-shelf’ race-ready production cars have enjoyed as much competition success as the Bugatti Type 35, in all its forms.

Originally launched at the 1924 French Grand Prix powered by a two-litre, naturally-aspirated ‘straight-eight’ engine, successive derivatives went on to win over 1,000 races in the day, including five consecutive Targa Florio victories.

It also took the unofficial Grand Prix World Championship in 1926, and was driven by legendary drivers at the time, like Tazio Nuvolari and Louis Chiron.

Key to the car’s remarkable success was its lightness and durability. Superbly engineered, its inline eight-cylinder engine’s crankshaft ran in needle- and roller-bearings, giving it a ceiling of 6000rpm, and, even in basic form, an output of 75hp.

The Type 35’s chassis was similarly advanced. Its forged and hollowed front axle weighed just 10kg, and its distinctive eight-spoke cast alloy wheels, with their detachable rims and integral brake drums, helped reduce unsprung mass, and gifted the Bugatti remarkable handling prowess. Along with an all-aluminium body, tapered at the rear end, this contributed to the Type 35’s meagre dry weight of around 750kg.

Perhaps with some immodesty, Ettore Bugatti was to say of the Type 35: “(It) was the founding father of a family of pure-blooded race horses from Molsheim – a true thoroughbred.”