A Bugatti T37 from the automobile museum awarded by the Heritage Foundation

The Bugatti Type 37 from the Mulhouse Automobile Museum has won the 2022 Auto Grand Prix from the Heritage Foundation and Motul. Good surprise for this emblematic car of the museum, which has been under restoration for several years.

The auto museum’s Bugatti Type 37, which has been immobilized since 2009 due to mechanical problems, will benefit from a serious boost to its recovery. The Heritage Foundation and Motul awarded him the 2022 Grand Prix in the car category with a prize of 20,000 Euros.

The selection committee wanted to give national visibility to this iconic vehicle of the museum by awarding it the Grand Prix. Leaving the Molsheim factory in Bas-Rhin in 1926, it was one of the first in a series of 270 examples built between that date and 1930.

At first glance it can be mistaken for the legendary T35. The difference is hidden under the hood: 37 is “satisfied” with a 4-cylinder engine, while 35 shows eight. Dubbed the “Little 35”, this Bugatti is its economical, simplified and more reliable version. “It is the general public version of the Type 35 that won all Grand Prix between 1924 and 1931. The idea was to have a “Canadian dry” car: aesthetically similar to the Bugatti 35 but easier to drive. , simpler to operate‘, explains Brice Chalançon, director of the museum’s workshop.

However, after several years of operation, mechanical problems put it back in the garage. More precisely, to the repair shop of the museum. He’s been here since 2017, Brice Chalançon and his mechanical team trying to get him back to health. “At first we only had to replace the clutch and check the lubrication circuit, and when we opened the hood we noticed a broken piston and connecting rod.“. But the nasty surprises don’t stop there. Then it’s the engine block that fails,” hen move slowly“Brice Chalançon makes a reason.

The starting budget of 10,000 euros exploded for all these reasons. The award by the Heritage Foundation and Motul will therefore lubricate the wheels and move the project forward with better prospects.

If all goes well, the car will be operational and back on the road by the end of the year.