Bugatti Type 55
Bugatti Type 55
The Bugatti Type 55 was a lightweight sports car built by Bugatti from 1932 to 1935. It was the road-going version of the Type 51 Grand Prix car.
The car was first shown at the Paris Motor Show in 1931. A total of 38 were made, with the last delivered in 1935. The early chassis 55201 was bought by the Duke of Trémoille. Production took place at Molsheim in France.
Most Type 55s wore bodywork designed by Jean Bugatti, including 16 two-seat roadsters and 7 coupes. The remaining 15 were bodied by coachbuilders, and four of those bodies are not identified. Factory-bodied cars often had no doors, making them less practical than the door-equipped coachbuilt cars.
Under the hood is a detuned 2.3 L straight-8 engine with a Roots supercharger, producing about 130 horsepower at 5,000 rpm. This engine is a refined version of the Type 51’s, featuring a camshaft-driven petrol pump, a modified supercharger drive, and a larger 9 mm compression plate.
The Type 55 uses a 4-speed manual transmission with straight-cut gears, taken from the Type 49 touring car. The car rides on eight-spoke aluminum wheels.
Specifications at a glance:
- Wheelbase: 2,750 mm
- Curb weight: about 820 kg
- Engine: 2.3 L supercharged straight-8, ~130 hp
- Transmission: 4-speed manual (straight-cut gears)
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 17:28 (CET).