Marlboro Masters 1998:

Historic Grand Prix Car (6/7)

There were a few Bugattis entered in the race also. This is the car of American E. Dean Butler, who originally entered a Maserati 26M. It has lousy paintwork but it's a very special car. Type 51 is the first Bugatti that boosted twin camshafts, based on the American Miller racing engine that powered Indianapolis cars.

The engine is also supercharged and fragile. Due to its unsynchronized gearbox gearchanges are tricky and overrevving the engine can be fatal because there is a chance that a connecting rod snaps off and breaks through the crankcase. This actually happened to a friend of mine who restored such a car. A rather expensive mistake....

The very beautiful and elegant Bugatti Type 35 was the oldest car on the track. It was driven by Michael Steele.
It has the long stroke engine with a displacement of 2.3 litre and puts out 130 hp.

Go to the last page about this race by clicking the arrows pointing right...