Features

AUTO MANIA: by Dr. Iain Corness [email protected]

Build your own vintage car?

Bugatti Type 35

A few years ago I met a very interesting chap with a Bugatti Type 35. He said, “Of the 258 Type 35’s ever built, only 602 are still in existence.” It turned out that these figures were ones he had dreamed up, but apparently there were now so many replicas of the T35B it had even become difficult for the Bugatti Register to keep up with them all.
This goes in line with an article in the Detroit News this week reporting that vintage cars have gained in appeal, especially since the financial crunch. Auction values have risen more than sevenfold over the past decade, according to data from market tracker Historica Selecta. British auction house Bonhams, which says global sales total more than $1 billion a year, sold a 1954 Mercedes-Benz F1 car for 19.6 million pounds ($32.1 million) in July, setting a world record at auction.
But back to my interesting chap, who was building a Bugatti Type 35. It is not every day you meet people like that, and to make this man even more interesting, it turned out that this was not his first Bugatti. He had already built one T35B, and it had taken 20 years!
The Bugatti Type 35 debuted at the French Grand Prix in 1924, where it showed that it was quite capable of speeds in excess of 160 kph. With the addition of a supercharger in 1926 this increased horsepower from 90 to 130 at the rear wheels. In supercharged form, speeds of up to 190 kph were possible in the 800 kg Type 35B. From a design standpoint, it is regarded among the most strikingly beautiful motors ever built, with its sculptured aluminum block and head, not to mention the engine-turned finish carried over onto the firewall.
Now before I get to the Thailand car, which by the way is a recreation, and not a replica, here are some details from another ‘Bugatti’ builder. Leonidas Jorge Anadón operates a tiny company known as Pur Sang (Pure Blood, the Bugatti nickname) situated in Villa Lola, a cottage complex in Entre Rios. Argentina has long been regarded as a font of great enthusiasm for the golden era of motor racing, as well as an impressive resource of artisanship. Pur Sang has been building high-quality, impressively faithful Bugatti T35 replicas for nearly 20 years. The company is also a leading fabricator of replacement parts for owners of original Bugattis, even replicating many proprietary tools.
Pur Sang’s Type 35 recreation is visually and dimensionally identical to the original cars, handcrafted and precision-built with over 3000 components manufactured from scratch. Fabrication usually takes up to six months.
And now to the local car(s). He has the most comprehensive engineering drawings for his beloved T35B. The complete plans were collected over a number of years, from sources all over the world, but these plans are now enough for him to be able to fabricate parts, absolutely and faithfully to the dimensions as used to produce the T35B in 1924. Even the chassis rails can be reproduced faithfully to the original dimensions.
For his first Bugatti, he cut out the rails by hand, carefully following the original dimensions. What also must be remembered is that these Bugatti’s were also hand built, and the minor imperfections were just part of the finished package. However, with laser cutting now being possible in Thailand, he has used a local engineering company to cut the rails. “I save so much time,” he said, and he is quite confident that this new T35B will be finished in three years!
I mentioned the engine-turned bulkheads/dash. These days it is possible to produce the geometric pattern exactly, but that takes away the original spirit of the cars, for someone like our builder. Done by hand originally, he has done his by hand as well. Absolute geometric exactness is not there, but this adds to the ‘humanity’ of the car - and the builder.
However, there are many parts which were not fabricated by Bugatti, but were cast in alloy, such as the engine block and the differential and magneto housing. He did not comb the globe for secondhand parts (which would be by now over 80 years old) but sat down and manufactured the wooden patterns from the original engineering drawings so the alloy parts could be cast, just as the originals were cast. His patterns are so faithful that he found he was inundated with requests for the magneto housing, a particularly difficult item to source. So as a sideline business he makes magneto housings to order.
But like Ettore’s factory, there are parts of T35B everywhere, and the mind boggles at the inventory system, until you find there isn’t one. He just knows where everything is - tucked away under the firewall against the wall, or in the second shelf down, or in a box of assorted parts beside the milling machine and lathe.
Important details such as instruments cannot be found these days, so he buys up any ‘period’ instruments, makes new faces and carefully coaxes them back to life. Jaeger? There were three different Jaeger tachometers according him, depending upon the country of origin. And the tachometers, being chronometric, need the tacho drive with the correct ratio to work for the straight eight engine. Try finding, or making, that little item. Fortunately the volume MG T series sports cars also had chronometric tachs, and drives from these can be modified.
So how do you value cars such as this? Not original in one sense, but faithfully recreated in the original manner. The jury is out on this one! What do you feel?

DIY Bugatti Type 35.

Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 991)

Porsche GT3 Cup

The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is the motorsport version of the new 911 GT3 (Type 991). It is powered by a 3.8 liter, six cylinder boxer engine which generates 460 hp (338 kW) at 7,500 RPM, ten horsepower more than its predecessor. Power is delivered to the rear axle via a race clutch and a Porsche Motorsport designed six-speed dog-type gearbox with a mechanical limited slip differential. For the first time gear shifting is activated with paddle shifts on the steering wheel. The width of the Michelin race slicks was increased by two centimeters to 27 centimeters at the front and by ten millimeters at the rear axle to now measure 31 centimeters.
Compared to its predecessor, the wheelbase has grown by 100 millimeters, improving handling at the limit, while Porsche Motorsport newly designed the forged single-piece 18 inch race rims with central locking. The new racing brake system improves the endurance qualities of the 911 GT3 Cup, and the internally vented and slotted steel brake discs are operated by aluminium six-piston racing calipers in the front, and four-piston units at the rear.
Safety features have also been further enhanced, and drivers are protected by a newly calculated safety cage and newly designed race seat, while a rescue hatch in the roof enables easy extrication.
The new 911 GT3 Cup combines maximum rigidity with low weight thanks to its aluminium-steel construction, and weighs 1,175 kilograms. I want one!

New mean Lambo

Lambo Huracan

The new Lamborghini Huracan has been released. The new Huracan will be named LP610-4, indicating it will have 610 hp (454 kW) and an all-wheel drive transmission.
This is 42 kW more than the current LP560-4 - and more power than the track-focused Gallardo Superleggera - from an upgraded version of the company’s 5.2 liter naturally-aspirated V10 A (derived from the Audi V10). Performance figures were not available at press time, but with the Huracan likely to adopt the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission introduced this year on the Audi R8 V10 Plus - a car it shares most of its underpinnings with - the regular Huracan is expected to eclipse the Superleggera’s claimed 3.4 sec zero to 100 km/h time and 325 km/h top speed.

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia - 2014 Provisional Calendar

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia has published the calendar for 12th season, featuring brand new Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 991) racing cars.
The provisional line-up for the 2014 season includes races at three rounds of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, with the opening race of the 11-round championship at the Malaysian Grand Prix in March following the official test three weeks earlier at the Sepang International Circuit. Round 2 will be part of the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, with the series supporting the pinnacle of world motorsport for a third time on Singapore’s Marina Bay street circuit in September.
Following a double header at the China GT Championship at China’s Zhuhai International Circuit in May, the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia will make its debut in Japan, with Rounds 5 and 6 at the famed Fuji International Circuit.
The championship returns to Malaysia in August for two races at the Asian Festival of Speed, with the season finale inked as part of the Shanghai round of the FIA World Endurance Championship in October.
The Provisional Race Calendar:

March 28 - 30	Sepang Intl. Circuit, Malaysia	Formula 1 Support Race	Round 1
April 18 - 20	Shanghai Intl. Circuit, China	Formula 1 Support Race	Round 2
May 09 - 11	Zhuhai Intl. Circuit, China	China GT Championship*	Rounds 3 and 4
June 06 - 08	Fuji Intl. Circuit, Japan	One Make Series Festival*	Rounds 5&6
August 15 - 17	Sepang Intl. Circuit, Malaysia	Asian Festival of Speed*	Rounds 7 and 8
September 19 - 21	Marina Bay Circuit, Singapore	Formula 1 Support Race	Round 9
Oct 31 - Nov 02	Shanghai Intl. Circuit, China	Rounds 10 and 11

Supporting the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia are two of the most recognized names in international motorsport, Mobil1 and Michelin. Mobil and Porsche have been partners since 1996. Close co-operation in research and development has led to every new Porsche engine being filled with Mobil1 high-performance lubricant. Porsche Carrera Cup Asia drivers also have the advantage of racing on cutting-edge tyres supplied by series partner Michelin. The consistent performance and leading technology of Michelin tyres constantly improve the performance of many teams in international motorsport. The partnership between Michelin and the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia has emerged from a worldwide agreement signed between Porsche AG and the Michelin group. The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia is organized and promoted by Malaysian based Motorsport Asia Ltd.

Autotrivia Quiz

Last week I asked which washing machine manufacturer built cars with four reverse gears? It was the Lightburn Zeta. With its 2-stroke engine you ran it backwards to get reverse, hence four reverse gears!
So to this week. What is the connection between King Neptune and automotive spark plugs?
For the Automania free beer this week, be the first correct answer to email [email protected].