Bugatti Type 50t Coach Profilée

There is a remarkable harmony in the design of this Bugatti. All the lines support and accentuate one another. It is both classic and avant-garde at the same time.

Note the extremely low rake of the windscreen – less than thirty degrees. The exceptionally beautiful yet radical styling of this ‘coach profilée’ was by Jean Bugatti, Ettore’s son. He was just 23 years old when he designed this car. Jean was also responsible for the choice of technology. He persuaded his father to buy two American Miller racing cars to study their engine design. Ettore then applied the twin-cam design and the inclined arrangement of the valves to his own engines. He fitted a 200 hp, 5.0-litre, eight-cylinder engine in the chassis of a Type 46 to create a sporty passenger car, the Type 50. The talented Jean Bugatti died in 1939, at the age of 30. He was testing a T57 racing car on the open road when he hit a tree in an attempt to avoid a cyclist. This is one of the two remaining examples of a Coach Profilée. The car won ‘Best of Show’ at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elégance in 1964.