THE SPECIAL ONE

Bugatti sit at the top of the automotive food-chain and the new 1,800-hp V16 Tourbillon is proof of that. But it was this car, the Type 35, that put it there. We drive it.

- Mark Walton

BUGATTI RECENTLY UNLEASHED the wildly ambitious, intellectually absorbing, and technically bewildering Tourbillon, a hybrid V16, to ensure the brand will capture the imagination of speed freaks everywhere for at least another generation.

And Bugatti do moments like few other carmakers. Think of the Chiron and Veyron and think, too, of the little boat-like work of art Bugatti created 100 years ago... This is 1924 and you are about to step into Bugatti's brand-new hypercar. There are no gull-wing doors, just an open cockpit you drop into like a bath.

Inside, there is a small bench and a gigantic four-spoke steering wheel. The gap between the wheel and the seat is narrow and the only way to get your legs in is to stand on the seat, get your feet under the wooden rim, and then pull the car towards you, as if you are pulling on a pair of trousers.

The technical specification of this new hypercar is absolutely out of this world. Let us compare it to a family car launched the previous year, the Austin 7 of 1923. The Austin's 747-cc four-cylinder puts out to hp through a three-speed gearbox. Top speed might be 80 km/h downhill-uphill, you will be in first gear and a man walking a dog could overtake you.

Imagine, then: the 1924 Bugatti has a 2.0-litre straight-eight that puts out a massive go hp through a four-speed gearbox. Its sleek alloy body is low to the ground thanks to groundbreaking suspension design and it rolls on cutting-edge alloy wheels.

Fast-forward to 1927 and the new, improved Type 35B is powered by a supercharged 2.3-litre straight-eight, putting out a stratospheric 140 hp, offering a top speed in excess of 210 km/h.