Bugatti Royale Victoria 1931
The type 41 Bugatti Royale, or as it was sometimes called-The Golden Bug, is a car considered by many classic car lovers the world over as the Classic of Classics. The Royale was designed by Ettore Bugatti to be the greatest motor car the world had ever seen, and it may well have been. With an overall body length of some twenty feet and a wheel base of 110 inches, the Royale was immense and had an overall weight of almost three tons. Size and weight alone are not what made the Royale unique. Handling and performance of the Royale seemed to belie the cars im- mense appearance. From a standstill start in high gear, the Royale could move out steadily and easily to over 100 mph, and on narrow winding roads the car would manuever easily and it's ride was smooth and steady. The official records show that seven and no fewer than six Royales were built. Six Royales still exist today, the seventh was said to have been broken down after an accident in which the car crashed and caught fire. The cost of a Bugatti Royale started at $25,000 and this price was for the chassis alone. Coachwork for the chassis could easily add on another $15,000 to the price of the Royale. The engine which powered the Royale was a 118 cubic inch, 300 hp. straight eight, having a 41/2 foot cast iron cylinder block with three valves per cylinder. Bore was 4.92 inches, stroke was 5.12 inches. The 220 lb. crankshaft was machined from a solid 900 lb. billet of steel and ran in nine water cooled bearings. The clutch is housed in its own aluminum casing under the drivers seat with the starter and generator both mounted on the clutch housing as there is no flywheel on the engine. Transmission is part of the rear axle and is driven by a short shaft from the clutch. The transmission has two forward speeds, an overdrive and reverse. Low speed is used solely for starting the car and second is direct drive. Overdrive could be engaged at any speed over 15 mph, and with 90 mph available in second gear, overdrive was rarely needed. This 1/2411 scale model of the Bugatti Royale Victoria was scaled from the original car which is on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. This Bugatti Royale, Chassis No. 41121 was ordered in 1930 by a German Doctor and was fitted with a drop-head cabriolet body by Weinberger of Munich. It was completed and delivered in 1931. The second owner of this Royale was Mr. Charles Chayne who purchased the car in 1943. Restoration was started in 1946 by Mr. Chayne and completed in 1951. In the late 1950's Mr. Chayne presented the Royale to the Henry Ford Museum.

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