1928 Bugatti Type 44 Tourer
Debuted at the 1927 Paris Salon, the Type 44 became Bugatti’s most-produced model of the period, with 1,095 examples built through 1930 (only about 10 percent are believed to survive today).
Sold as rolling chassis to coachbuilders including Gangloff, Kellner, James Young, Weymann, and Harrington (example shown), it appeared in configurations ranging from open tourers and roadsters to closed saloons, all sharing the long hood and characteristic horseshoe radiator.
Power comes from a twin-block, single-overhead-cam straight-eight displacing 3.0 liters (2,991cc), with three valves per cylinder and five plain main bearings. Producing approximately 80 horsepower, the engine was capable of pushing the car to around 80 mph, with a comfortable cruising speed closer to 60 mph.
Drive goes through a four-speed center-change gearbox, with semi-elliptic springs up front and reversed quarter-elliptic springs at the rear.
The engine’s architecture was closely related to the Type 43’s unit (itself derived from the Type 35B Grand Prix car), giving the Type 44 a performance pedigree uncommon in touring cars of the day. Ettore Bugatti maintained his single-cam layout throughout production.
Twin overhead cam actuation only arrived on the Type 50 in 1931. The Type 44 replaced the 2.0-liter Type 38 and remained Bugatti’s primary touring offering until the arrival of the Type 49.
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