From the very first day of the car manufacturer from Molsheim, the Bugatti myth was created mainly by motorsports. In this respect, 1928 was a special year for Bugatti. The rules had changed and the highly successful era of the Bugatti Type 35 had begun. This car strengthened the reputation of Bugatti over the decades and still does so today.
For 1928, the governing body of motorsports had planned seven international races, of which only two had actually taken place by the end of the season. For this reason, there was no official world champion in 1928. However, even without a championship to fight for, Bugatti racing cars won race after race. Of 26 races held in 1928, Bugatti drivers took first place in 23, including 11 Grands Prix and the Targa Florio, the world’s toughest road race, which was already famous 90 years ago.
Bugatti’s success in 1928 started with Tazio Nuvolari. The Italian, known as the “flying Mantuan”, had begun his career as a motorcycle racer, before switching to cars in 1924. He won the Tripoli Grand Prix in March 1928 driving a Type 35C. On the same day, 11 March, Louis Chiron of Monaco, whose nickname was “old fox”, took first place on the Circuit d’Esterel Plage in France driving the same model. He had been a private entrant with Bugatti since 1925 and had joined the works team in 1927.
Two weeks later, Nuvolari outclassed the competition in Verona. In the following weeks, Chiron took several first places, for example at the Circuit de la Riviera and the Antibes Grand Prix with a Type 35C. Its 2.0-liter eight-cylinder equipped with a Roots supercharger developed about 125 PS and accelerated the racing car, which only weighed 750 kilograms, to a top speed of over 200 km/h.
Louis Chiron became a new star with his outstanding Bugatti T35C. He drove from victory to victory, winning the Grands Prix of Rome, Marne, San Sebastian in Spain and Europe, held in Monza.
The Type 35B is powered by a straight-eight with a displacement of 2.3 liters and about 140 PS. The Roots blower rotates at the same speed as the crankshaft, forcing sufficient air into the combustion chambers without over-revving at high engine speeds. Alberto Divo raced round the circuits at up to 215 km/h with his Type 35 – 90 years ago.
Marcel Lehoux of France, who won the Algerian Grand Prix in May and the Tunisian Grand Prix in June, also with a Type 35C, was just as fast. Like Chiron, Lehoux chose a Bugatti as its first racing car. At the French Grand Prix in July, William Grover-Williams driving a Type 35C left the competition standing. Grover-Williams, an Englishman living in France, had joined the Bugatti works team in 1928 and took first place ahead of André Rousseau on the temporary circuit on public roads in the district of Comminges near Saint-Gaudens. The circuit was 27 kilometres long. At the end of the sports car race, after two hours and 27 minutes, Grover-Williams’ lead over the driver in second place was two minutes and 23 seconds.
Louis Chiron rounded off a successful season with the Italian Grand Prix in Monza in September. After three hours and 45 minutes, he crossed the finishing line in first place, with an average speed of almost 160 km/h. This was the last win in the season but not the last in international races. In 1929, Bugatti was able to continue its success and to forge even closer ties between the brand and motorsport.