The Bugatti Experience

THE CAR’S THE STAR, by Ben Hunt

FT Magazine, 15/16 July 2006

On a hot and sunny June day, 22 Formula One cars raced around Silverstone, following the lead of reigning champion Fernando Alonso and thrilling tens of thousands of petrolhead spectators.

Just 45 miles away, in the quintessential English countryside of the Welland Valley near Market Harborough, I too am racing around in a Grand Prix champion – a Type 35 Bugatti, the car that made Ettore Bugatti’s name in the 1920s with a string of great victories including the first Monaco Grand Prix.  At the wheel is Bruce Stops, farmer and vintage car devotee, who has diversified from barley and wheat and now runs The Bugatti Experience.  Stops built the Type 35 himself, from a combination of original parts and replicas, and offers a taste of life as a ride-in mechanic in a 1920s Grand Prix car.

The “experience” starts with a talk about the history and unusual engineering of the Type 35 – Ettore Bugatti eschewed conventions such as mechanical calculations, relying on the assumption that if something looked right, it was right.  And this car looks right.  Compared to today’s pumped-up steroidal machines, it is a graceful, elegant vehicle, a thoroughbred with seductive looks and a powerful kick.

After a 30-minute chat, Stops hands over a set of overalls, issues a list of instructions and invites me to climb into a seat whose width and legroom would shame a budget airline.  But this car was built for speed, not comfort, and on the open road with the engine roaring, its attractions are vibrantly apparent.

A vintage racing car is a long way removed from the cocooned comfort-zone of a modern car.  As the wind (and grit) ripped into my face, I felt every bump in the road and the tension of every high-speed turn.  I don’t know what speed it reached, but it felt fast enough – my excitement gauge remained just on the right side of the fine line separating thrilling exhilaration from total terror.