View source for Bugatti Type 53

{{Infobox racing car
| Car_name         = Bugatti Type 53
| Image            = Rétromobile 2015 - Bugatti Type 53 4Wheel Drive Race Car - 1931 - 001.jpg
| Caption          = Bugatti Type 53
| Category         = [[Grand Prix motor racing]]<br />[[Hillclimbing]]
| Constructor      = [[Bugatti]]
| Designer         = Antoine Pichetto
| Team             = Bugatti
| Drivers          = [[René Dreyfus]]<br />[[Robert Benoist]]<br />[[Louis Chiron]]<br />[[Achille Varzi]]<br />[[Jean Bugatti]]
| Technical ref    = <ref name=tech>{{cite web|url  = http://www.bugatti-trust.co.uk/bugatti-cars/bugatti-53.shtml|title  = Bugatti Type 53: 4-wheel drive Racer|work  = The Bugatti Trust|location  = Prescott Hill, UK|archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060821112705/http://www.bugatti-trust.co.uk/bugatti-cars/bugatti-53.shtml#|archivedate  = 2006-08-21|url-status  = dead|accessdate  = 2011-12-11}}</ref>
| Chassis          = 
| Front suspension = Independent, upper and lower quarter-elliptic springs with friction dampers
| Rear suspension  = Live axle, quarter-elliptic springs
| Length           = <!-- Use: {{convert|XXX|in|cm|1|abbr=on}} -->
| Width            = <!-- Use: {{convert|XXX|in|cm|1|abbr=on}} -->
| Height           = <!-- Use: {{convert|XXX|in|cm|1|abbr=on}} -->
| Wheelbase        = {{convert|102.2|in|cm|1|abbr=on}}
| Track            = {{convert|49.2|in|cm|1|abbr=on}}
| Engine name      = Type 50
| Capacity         = {{convert|4972|cc|cuin|1|abbr=on}}
| Configuration    = [[Straight-eight engine]]
| Turbo/NA         = [[Roots-type supercharger]]
| Engine position  = [[Front-engine, four-wheel-drive layout|Front/mid engine]], [[four-wheel drive]]
| Gearbox name     = 
| Gears            = 4 forward speeds
| Type             = manual
| Differential     = Centre, front, and rear
| Weight           = <!-- Use: {{convert|XXX|kg|lb|1|abbr=on}} -->
| Fuel             = 
| Lubricants       = 
| Tyres            = 28 x 5
| Debut            = [[1932 Monaco Grand Prix]]
}}
The '''Bugatti Type 53''' was a [[four-wheel drive]] racing car built by [[Bugatti]] in 1932.  The Type 53 was one of the first racing cars to attempt to drive all four wheels, though [[Ettore Bugatti]] himself had designed multi-engine all wheel drive vehicles early in his career.

The Type 53 used the ({{convert|4972|cc|cuin}}) engine from the [[Bugatti Type 50|Type 50]] road car fitted to the chassis of the [[Bugatti Type 51|Type 51]] racer.  It was originally conceived by [[Giulio Cappa]], who created a [[front wheel drive]] Grand Prix car in 1926.{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}}  Cappa's associate,{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}} Antonio Pichetto, handled the development of the car while working at Bugatti, starting in 1930.<ref name="RT8408">{{cite journal| last        = Lamm| first       = John| editor-last  =Dinkel| editor-first =John|date=August 1984| title        = Salon: 1932 Bugatti Type 53| journal      = [[Road & Track]]| volume       = 35| issue        = 12| pages        = 88&ndash;93| location     = Newport Beach, CA USA| issn         = 0035-7189}}</ref> The engine output was approximately {{Convert|300|hp|kW}}.  As a result of the elaborate front drivetrain, the Type 53 used the only independent front suspension system ever approved for use by Ettore Bugatti.<ref name="RT8408" />

The Type 53 was notoriously difficult to steer. At the Type 53's debut in the 1932 Monaco Grand Prix, Albert Divo, noted for his size and strength, was chosen to drive the car, but he gave up during practice after exhausting himself.<ref name="RT8408" />  In June 1932, [[Jean Bugatti]] rolled a Type 53 at the [[Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb]].  The hard steering was attributed to not having [[constant-velocity joint]]s for the front halfshafts and to unequal-length halfshafts without matching torsional characteristics.<ref name="RT8408" />  Modern tests, however, have shown the car to be quite tractable at speed.{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}}

[[René Dreyfus]] won the 1934 La Turbie hillclimb with a record average speed of {{Convert|100|km/h|mi/h|0|abbr=on}} in a Type 53. [[Robert Benoist]] then won the 1935 Chateau-Thierry hillclimb in a Type 53, after which the type was retired.<ref name="RT8408" />  Two<ref name="RT8408" /> or three<ref name=tech /> were built.

==See also==
* [[Bugatti Type 50]]
* [[Bugatti Type 51]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}{{Bugatti}}
[[Category:Bugatti automobiles|53]]