Entirely restored as part of the partnership between the Fondation du Patrimoine and Motul, the Schlumpf collection Bugatti Torpedo was officially inaugurated on 10 November in front of the the press and the players of this incredible project.
In all, it took some 15 months to bring back to life this 'prototype' bought in 1977 by the Schlumpf brothers and which is exceptional in Bugatti's history. Presented for the first time by the Molsheim make at the Paris Show of 1921, it is the sole one that still exists today. The type 28 marks a radical change because, for the first time, it is a car with a luxurious saloon bodywork and no sport ambition. Fitted with a 3 litre engine developing 90 hp at 3400 rpm (speed of 130km/H), this prototype resulted from a new global concept. It was to serve as a laboratory for all the '8 cylinders' from 1925 onwards, especially the type 44, and the famous Royale!
Exhibited from now on in allée Bugatti at the Cité de l’Automobile in Mulhouse – the world's biggest automotive museum with 25,000 sq. m of floor space – this prototype can now be admired by all the visitors to the site. Motul wished to congratulate Norbert STEINHAUSER, historian; Laurent RONDONI, Bugatti specialist; Hubert HABERBUSCH, car-body maker; Brice CHALANCON, engineer-restorer and Bertrand HECK, mechanic, who all participated in restoring the vehicle and without whom this tremendous technical and human adventure could never have taken place.
