For the past month or so, we have had a couple of "secret" projects going on at the museum. We were asked not to talk about them until the time was right. Well, the cat is out of the bag now. So, here's the story on Secret Project #1...
On August 16, 2013 Bugatti will unveil the first of six exclusive editions of the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse at The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering and at The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance (August 18). The first special edition of the Vitesse is dedicated to French race car driver Jean-Pierre Wimille. Wimille won Bugatti two victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: in 1937, driving a 1936 Bugatti Type 57G “Tank” co-piloted by Robert Benoist, and repeating the feat in 1939, this time supported by Pierre Veyron in a 57C “Tank”.
In July of 2013, Volkswagen Group (parent company of Bugatti) commissioned the museum to perform a “sympathetic” restoration of Wimille’s 1936 Bugatti Type 57G “Tank”. The "Tank" is one of the crown jewels in the museum's collection. The restoration was completed in just over two weeks and the “Tank” was transported to California to be an important part (i.e., it will be photographed alongside the new Vitesse) of the Vitesse unveiling.
One word of explanation; By "sympathetic" restoration what I mean is, no major mechanicals were touched. A few very minor repairs were made and the paint was refreshed. Before anyone shouts foul about the paint let me say that the "Tank" has passed through several hard races, World War II (during which it was buried underground to save it from the Germans) and at least three previous owners. So, it has been repainted several times in its lifetime. We would NEVER re-touch "original" paint on any car! The main focus of the museum is "preservation", not restoration.
So, here is the "Tank" back in 1937 with Wimille...
Here is the "Tank" BEFORE the restoration...
Here it is during the paint stripping process...
The curvy/swoopy body panels are hand formed aluminum. The flatter body panels are magnesium. All panels are riveted together. Here is some of the magnificent original coachwork...
Here are some of the guys prepping it for paint...
Here it is back from the paint shop along with just some of the folks who worked on it...
Here the driver's names are being reapplied to the cowl...
Here it is all back together...
Ready for its trip to Monterey...
We couldn't resist taking our own "tribute" photo. This is the ghost of Jean-Pierre Wimille...
Finally, here is a link to a short video (about 2 minutes) about the "Tank".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EJj_hJj-TM
I'll tell you about Secret Project #2 soon.
...Sinc
